Death Trio
by rene3037769
Summary: Harry meets death and is offered a chance to go back in time and stop Voldemort. Death gives him the family he always wanted by blood adoption. Harry and his new siblings join the Marauders for their seventh year.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Chapter edited 3/4/17

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

{Parseltongue}

Harry looked around at the bloody field with blank eyes that were reminiscent of the Avada Kedavra curse that had killed so many of his classmates and friends. There was absolutly no one left alive on the field. The bodies of the few Death Eaters that had lived long enough to fall with their insane master lay strewn about like the broken toys that had once littered Dudley's second bedroom, and among them lay the last of the order and Hogwarts students that had chosen to fight.

Harry had finally fulfilled the prophesy that had caused him so much pain. It was over...he was alone.

The thought of his friends was enough to have him fall from his position on his knees and onto his back so that he could look at the sky. His thoughts running through his mind at a rapid pace.

At the battle of Hogwarts two weeks ago many of those that had been fighting had been captured after Harry had gone into the forest. Narcissa had lied to Voldemort by telling him that Harry was dead, and Hagrid had carried Harry back to the school where the fighting had not stopped. Apparently, the Death Eaters did not want to give anyone time to claim those already dead and had started cursing people as soon as they were out of their master's sight. Harry's friends were captured and bound and the death count on both sides was staggering.

While Voldemort ranted and cursed some of his followers for disobeying his orders and caused even more of them to die, Harry had tried to get into a position that would allow him to get rid of the megalomaniac once and for all. Unfortunately, Hagrid could not prevent his shocked reaction to Harry's movement and Harry was also captured before he had a chance to act.

They were taken away from Hogwarts back to Malfoy Manor. This time Harry was not immediately locked into the basement where he only had to listen to others being tortured. Harry was made to watch as his friends and his once enemies were tortured and killed, people that had become his family. First had been Luna and Hermione. They were cursed for hours until they were unresponsive, and then they were given to Greyback. Harry had watched as their bodies were torn apart until they were completely unrecognizable.

Then Neville was brought into the room and offered a place in the ranks of the Death Eaters if he would join in the torture of Harry. Harry had expected his friend to be terrified, but Neville had stood tall before Voldemort and spat in his face. After a shocked silence from the Death Eaters and Voldemort, the green curse shot from Voldemort's wand without any warning and Neville crumpled to the floor; his eyes seemed to have fixed on Harry after he had fallen. Harry thought that he was one of the bravest people that he ever met and wished that he had been a better friend to the boy that always seemed to stand by him when things went to hell.

When Ron and Ginny were brought into the room, Harry thought that his heart would break at seeing so many tortured and killed in front of him. His heart did break, but this time it was because both redheads fell at Voldemort's feet and kissed his robes without hesitation.

Voldemort watched Harry's face as he spoke in his cold hissing voice, "You did well this last year keeping Harry from destroying my real Horcruxes Ron. I was so pleased when you switched them out with the fakes that I provided. And you Ginny, were so convincing in your devotion to your beloved. You will both be rewarded. Join your fellow Death Eaters."

Harry just sat stunned beside Voldemort's throne where he was bound into place on his knees.

Voldemort's laugh echoed around the dusty room as he taunted Harry. "It was such a pleasant surprise to have three of the Weasley's join my ranks." At Harry's slight twitch Voldemort leaned closer to him to continue in a more mocking tone. "Yes boy, their mother was with them when they came. Apparently, with Dumbledore's death, they no longer would be paid to keep you loyal. Did you know that Dumbledore was using you as his own personal tool to make himself the hero again? Even after he was cursed by my ring, he did not give you the information that you could use to live. He instead gave Severus information that would ensure that you went to your death." Here Voldemort snarled and hissed {I am not sure how you survived the killing curse again but you will die one way or another.}

Harry felt cold but was able to hiss back with as much hatred as he could manage, which at the moment was a fair amount. {Burn in hell you psycho.}

Never one to like having someone talk to him with such disrespect, Voldemort held Harry under the crucio for five minutes in retaliation. After about two minutes something strange started happening. The curse did not feel quite as strong. Harry continued to act like the curse was as strong as ever and that he was in agony when, by the time the curse was lifted, he could barely feel any pain from it at all. He thought if felt more like a static tingle. Harry was not sure if he should be worried that he was apparently damaged enough that he could not feel it anymore or thankful that he was apparently damaged enough that he could not feel it anymore. He had heard of people losing their minds when being held continuously under the curse, but he had been exposed in small bursts...with the bursts adding up to quite a bit of time under the curse.

Over the next week Voldemort focused his torture on Harry. Harry eventually decided that he was not completely damaged as he could feel it perfectly fine when Voldemort used other curses, it was just that his favorite-the Crucio-had practically no effect. Harry would try to act like it was as awful and painful as it was supposed to be but it was not enough for Voldemort.

Harry did not know that he had been under the curse more than anyone in recorded history and that even with his acting like he was in terrible pain; it was obvious to those that were watching that Harry was stronger than anyone had guessed. Voldemort was beyond pissed that this _boy_ was still strong enough to be coherent. He had wanted the boy to be a shaking drooling mess.

Voldemort swept into his throne room where his Death Eaters were gathered and turned to Harry. "Today Harry, I have a special treat for you. You see, it has amused me to hurt your friends in front of you, and to hurt you as well, but there are two people that I want to hear screaming in pain even more than you right now. I don't like to be betrayed Potter." Grayback and another Death Eater were dragging two limp forms into the room behind Voldemort. "Narcissa and Draco Malfoy are going to die today because they tried to help you. I have looked into their minds and seen how they deceived me, Narcissa in the woods and Draco while you were here earlier. I am so disappointed in their lack of loyalty."

Despite the promise that they would die that day, it took a total of three days for the Malfoys to die. Draco's mother died first as her sister carved into her bruised and burned flesh the words _Blood Traitor_. Draco was made to watch as his mother bled out in front of him. He had seen this before when Hermione had been tortured in a room down the hall and he had thought that nothing could be worse than watching the muggle-born being tortured by his aunt. There could be no doubt though that this was much worse for the blond boy.

Draco followed his mother with-in the hour as his father asked him one last time to plead for mercy from the Dark Lord. Draco had stood as tall as his broken form would allow and told his father that a Malfoy should bow before no one. Then, like Neville, Draco had spat into his father's face. The curse that ended his life was a blessing as he was dead before he hit the floor.

These deaths hit Harry hard as he had never been friends with Draco. He had barely had any contact at all with Draco's mother. Yet both of them lied to protect him when it was needed while people he thought of as family turned on him like rabid dogs as soon as things were not going their way.

The next morning Harry was taken to this field behind Hogwarts. It was on the far side of the lake but you could see the topmost towers of the castle in the distance.

"You will die today Potter." Voldemort had opened his arms wide as if to embrace the day.

Harry thought that he was being a bit dramatic. Apparently watching his friends die and being tortured had made his word filter in his brain malfunction because he told Voldemort exactly that.

"How dare you speak to the greatest wizard in the world like that? No one is greater than me and the world will bow before me…"

Harry rolled his eyes and replied with snark worthy of Draco and a smirk worthy of Snape. "See, drama queen. And you are not the most powerful wizard. That would be me." At Voldemort's incredulous sputtering Harry grinned even though his face protested the movement with all the bruises. "Seriously Tom, you have been trying to prevent your death by making Horcruxes and here I am surviving the killing curse twice, once as a little baby that wasn't even potty trained. It's pretty sad that you can't kill me with the curse that is supposed to do just that. Not to mention your Imperio does nothing to me and your Crucio is as weak as your sorry old ass apparently is. Pathetic."

Voldemort was now staring daggers at Harry while his left eye twitched in irritation. He then waved his wand and Bellatrix's dagger came soaring through the air into his waiting hand. "I may not be able to use the killing curse to rid myself of you, but I can kill you. I doubt that you will be able to survive blood loss."

Harry simply continued to grin at the posturing of Voldemort. Harry figured that if he was going to die, which he figured was a large possibility, then he would piss off the monster in front of him as much as possible.

"Whatever Tommy, you keep trying to kill me and it never seems to work for you. I am sure your followers are impressed with your continually failing to kill one boy that has had some pretty fucked up teachers for defense. Doesn't really say all that much about your 'supposed skill,' now does it?" Harry took delight in the continued twitching of Voldemort's left eye and now the clenching of his jaw as he mocked the man in front of him.

Flashes of light startled the Death Eaters that were standing in a ring around Voldemort and Harry. The last of the order and students from Hogwarts had arrived. Curses were quickly being tossed by each side. The students were proving to be a challenge for the experienced Death Eaters thanks in large part to Harry having lead the DA. Even when he was on the Horcrux hunt Neville had made sure that everyone was continuing to improve themselves. This fight was different than the last though, it seemed as though no one was casting to stun this time around.

Voldemort quickly cast a protection spell that left him and Harry in a protective bubble where no one could interfere. While bodies fell to the ground outside the bubble, Voldemort advanced on Harry. When Harry tried to move away, Voldemort cast a Body Bind on him to keep him still.

"Can't even kill me with a knife can you Tom? Have to have me bound?"

"I just want you gone from this world as soon as possible."

"Whatever makes you sleep at night. We both know that you will never be as strong as I am, even after I die. Look around. Your Death Eaters are falling, and even then, they only follow you out of fear. I may have had a few that betrayed me but I had people that loved me enough to stand by me and die with me. You will never have that." Harry looked into red eyes as Voldemort grasped Harry's neck and held the knife at his stomach. He was so close that Harry could feel his breath on his face.

"Ah, but Potter, I took them from you and now you are dead too." With this Voldemort plunged the cursed dagger into Harry and released the body bind, allowing Harry to fall to his knees. Voldemort sank to his knees so that he could whisper to the boy-that-refused-to-die. "Can you survive this Potter? I am going to watch you die now. You can't save anyone anymore."

{I thought I told you to burn in hell} harry hissed as he wrenched the dagger from his stomach and plunged it into Voldemort's chest. Voldemort stared down shocked at the dagger before he fell to the ground beside the-boy-who-lived in a mix of his and Harry's blood.

Harry looked around and saw that he was the only one alive, his green eyes blank as he took in the bodies around him. It had taken only a few minuets for those fighting to fall under the onslaught of spells. He wasn't able to see anyone that would be able to tell those that had been able to find a safe place to hide that everything was over now.

As he clutched the bleeding wound in his stomach he thought about the people that had died to end this war.

He thought about Sirius falling through the veil and Lupin who had fallen with Tonks at the battle of Hogwarts.

He thought about Dobby and Kreacher who had both ended up dying for him.

Luna, Neville and Hermione...friends that had stood by him until the very end.

Draco and Narcissa, who could have avoided their deaths by turning on him but standing strong despite everything.

He fell to his back and looked at the clouds as he continued to think about Hermione, his best friend, and Luna and Neville who had been good friends. He remembered every time they made him laugh or forget that he was the _chosen one_ for a few moments. He thought about the friendship that he could have had with Draco if he had not been so blind to the manipulation of the Headmaster and the Weasley family. He even thought about Severus Snape and everything he had done for him.

The clouds continued to drift slowly across the sky as Harry thought of the people that had become the family that he had never had a chance to enjoy. Knowing that he had managed to find family despite the manipulation and the utter fuck up that was his life made him feel at peace with his death. He did not want to live alone in a world that had been decimated by Voldemort and his crazy band of followers anyway.

As his breath became slower and slower, he thought that it was a good thing he could see the sky. He would die seeing clouds drift along the endless blue and not have to look at the red stained field that he lay in. The last thought that crossed his mind as the light went out behind his eyes was that Death was not so bad.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Chapter edited 3/4/17

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

{Parseltongue}

Well...okay. This was not what he expected.

Harry looked around what appeared to be King's Cross with no small bit of frustration. _What the fuck is this fresh hell? I thought I would to get to see my family and friends now? Why did I have to come back here? I swear if Dumbledore shows up he is going to…_

"Harry Potter, How nice of you to join me" Harry spun around on his heel to see a man he had never met before.

"Not that it's not nice to meet you or anything, but who are you and why am I here?" Harry was looking at this new person with no small amount of suspicion.

"Well that is easy enough to answer. I am Death and you are here to make a choice." Death looked around at the blindingly white train station with a sneer. "So this is where that old fool met you. I swear I have never had so many troublesome people try to irritate me all at once. Well...this is absolutely horrible...it's so…bright." The older man had a look of distaste on his face while he spoke.

Harry shifted and cocked his head to the side as he studied the man that called himself Death. He looked like a wealthy business man heading off for a day of work at the office. "So, right...Death. Um…"

Death glanced back at him and the smirk on his face turned into a grin that would probably scare small children. "Yes Harry. I am Death. I would have met you when you were hit by the killing curse in the woods to explain to you what was going on, but your meddling headmaster had created this place and lured your soul here with a spell he cast on you a few years ago. He has been planing this bit of magic and manipulation for a while now. He is just as irritating as Tom Riddle. Honestly…Horcruxes." The last was spat out with derision. Death gracefully perched himself on one of the benches and motioned for Harry to join him.

After a few moments of processing the fact that Death thought that Dumbledore was as irritating as Voldemort, Harry shrugged and joined Death on the bench. He figured that this was pretty much standard crazy for Harry Potter, so why shouldn't he have a chat with Death. Harry stared at the man beside him and thought that he looked pretty normal for Death, aside from the creepy smile he was still sporting of course.

"So, let's see, I have a lot to explain so where do I want to start. Alright Harry. I know that you know of the three brothers and that your cloak came from Ignotus. I should tell you in case you did not figure it out yet that you are descended from him. His son was thought to have had only a son as it states in the story but he had a daughter and she married a Potter. When her brother died his wife gave the cloak to her. This is how the cloak came to the Potters. Now, what you do not know is that when Ignotus died and met Death, Death gave him a choice. Death had been alone fulfilling his duties for a long time and offered to make Ignotus into what he was. Death...or at least an avatar of one. Through an adoption ritual of all things, Ignotus became Death's…brother would be a good fit as he irritates me like brothers tend to do." At this point Harry's mouth had dropped open and his eyes were trying to pop out of his head. "Close your mouth Harry. And yes, I am saying that I am Ignotus. Your however many greats grandfather."

Harry's teeth clicked as he snapped his mouth shut. "What?" _This might be a little beyond his normal crazy then_.

"What part are you stuck on son? There are two current avatars of Death. I am one of them and you are my descendant. Honestly I wouldn't even bother you with all that information except that you held all three Deathly Hallows at once. My brother and I were thrilled that it was you as you were having the worst luck we have seen in a long time. Everyone was meddling in your life. Absolutely everyone."

"This is just a lot of information to process, sir." Harry mumbled.

"None of that nonsense now, you will call me Grandfather as Death will be here in a moment and it will irritate me if you call us both Death. Accurate, but irritating. I haven't really been called anything at all for who knows how long and it will be nice to have someone call me something other than _Death_."

As Harry contemplated how wrong he was when he thought things could not get stranger in his life he noticed that there was another man appearing a few feet to the left of his new grandfather that seemed to find a great many things irritating.

This Death was dressed more like a stereotypical grim reaper with black robes. He was also much older. "So this is the boy?"

"Yes, I have been explaining who I am and that he has a choice. I have also told him to call me Grandfather as it will…"

"Yes yes…something will be irritating." Death looked at the boy and with his deep voice said. "He looks much like his father." Harry rolled his eyes at this bring a small smile to the ancient man's lips. "Hear that a lot do you." Harry nodded. "Well, moving on. As your grandfather here told you, like him, I am going to offer you a choice."

"You want me to be like you and be another avatar of Death?" Harry asked incredulously.

"No, that is something that I am still wondering if it was worth the effort. Your Grandfather is good company but is easily irritated." A small bubble of laughter escaped from Harry at this because he had noticed the same thing. "No, your offer is different. I can send you back in time to live again. You may have held the Hallows, but they do not make you immortal as Dumbledore thought. Only I can say who escapes me…well and your grandfather since I adopted him as Death too, it has nothing to do with the Deathly Hallows. They are simply highly powerful objects that carry a small bit of my power. If you go back, the elder wand and stone of that time will no longer have the power that they did as they had a master that chose for their power to end and this wish will hold true for all timelines. Thank you for that by the way. Most would have used the objects to bring the world to their knees but you are different. Definitely have been interesting to watch." He murmured looking at Harry.

"Um, you're welcome. It was just luck that I had been the master of the elder wand when I died. Who could have guessed that Draco would disarm Dumbledore and then that I would disarm him."

"Lucky or not, you never wanted to use the power to rule the world. That is one of the reasons that I am giving you this choice."

"I think that I would like to go back. I would like to try to save some of the people that should not have died. What would I have to do?"

Death smiled and looked to be a sweet old man for a moment, and the sight sent shivers right down Harry's spine. Death should not look like that...ever. "I am going to use an adoption ritual with you and your grandfather. You are already his descendant but this ritual will cause you to be a Peverell when you do your inheritance test at Gringotts. The wealth and history have been unclaimed for generations as his daughter married a Potter and there was no male to carry the line when his grandson failed to have any children. We will tie you in to your Grandfathers grandson. With you being adopted by Death, you will always have the choice to live again, and you will have gifts that come from being our heir such as wandless and mind magics being much easier to learn. Once you have a skill you will always have it in any new lifetime. You are already immune to the killing curse, Cruciatus curse, and Imperius curse and you will remain so."

Harry's eyes widened again "I am?"

"Yes. Your mother had begged for your life when you a baby. I normally do not bother as most mothers do the same thing for their children, but your grandfather said that your mother continued to nag him after she died causing him untold irritation." Death winked at Harry. "So we offered the protection of Death and allowed you to live. We then watched as you grew up since we had never bothered offering our protection before and I have to say that your life was absolutely horrible. So your grandfather and I decided that we would offer you a choice to live a new life at your next death. If anyone deserves to live again you do. Anyway, the Killing curse will never be able to kill you due to our protection. You can still die...just not with that curse. I was not expecting that you would become immune to the Cruciatus curse but that seems to be a side effect of your being exposed to it so much. Your magic simply learned to deal with the curse, and you could already ignore an Imperio. Things could have been even worse for you if you had not managed to overpower the power block Dumbledore placed on you before placing you with the Dursleys. I am not really sure why he never noticed you had broken through it while you were at school."

"Power Block?" Rage ignited in Harry's belly at the thought of Dumbledore putting him in so much danger while thinking that his power was blocked. Looking back he could see clearly that Dumbledore never thought he would survive do had he wanted him to. Bloody Bastard.

"Yes, he was not very happy to see me when I caught up to him. He thought that he would be going on to his great reward or that he could bargain with me. It is hard to run from Death. Horcruxes will tie your soul to earth which is an annoyance, and please do take care of Riddles toys this time. They will be easy for you to locate as you will have an affinity for feeling torn souls from me, should feel like a tugging or something. While there if you see one, just send the soul piece to me" Harry winced at the gleeful look that Death had on his face at the thought of capturing pieces of lost souls.

"Did Dumbledore have Horcruxes too then?" Harry asked thinking about how old the headmaster had been.

"No, he stole the stone in your first year and let his friend die. The man should have died a long time ago, but he spent his life hiding his evil deeds behind his _greater good_. Don't worry about him living that long this time. I already have a plan for him."

Harry just nodded at this additional information on the headmaster that he once thought of with admiration. "So, wow. I don't know what to say. Thanks for letting me go back and for all the information. What now?"

His new grandfather stood abruptly and barked out "It's my turn to give you a gift now."

Harry just smiled as he had forgotten that Death had said both of them would give him gifts. Who could blame him with all the information he was having thrown at him? "You two are already giving me so much...Grandfather." Harry only stumbled of the grandfather a small bit and the older man did not seem to notice. But seriously, what more can they give him? They were already sending him back...adopting him which would set him up with a family history and vault in his new life as well as give him the choice to live again if he wanted to after this new life was finished. _Surely they couldn't give him a puppy or anything...right?_

"No, they are too irritating. You will take them back with you."

Harry blinked. "They?" _More than one puppy?_

"Yes they...they have not stopped bugging me since they got here...much like your mother did when you were a baby. I find them irritating so I am sending them back with you. They should be…yes, here we go."

Harry was almost knocked over as he was tackled by a bushy haired girl. "Hermione?" Harry could not believe his eyes as he wiped hair out of his face. Draco was standing behind Hermione looking smug. _So...no puppies then._

Hermione pulled out of his arms "Hey Harry."

Draco just nodded with a small up tilt of one side of his lips.

"Harry, I have been so worried about you. We wanted to be able to help you and did you know that your grandfather is Ignotus Peverell from The Three Brothers in the book?" Hermione had just started asking questions when she was interrupted by Harry's newfound grandfather.

"See son, irritating. That one will not stop asking questions and the Malfoy boy keeps on about how he wished that he could have been your friend and help you. You have to take them back with you. You will all be adopted and share gifts and traits and then go on and live your lives like good _non-irritating_ siblings." Harry was grinning like mad as his grandfather whispered this to him. It seemed that he would not be alone in his new life after all.

Death stepped up and asked the group "So when we complete the ritual I will send you back to the time that your parents were in seventh year. The summer before, to be exact, so that you can claim your inheritances and settle in. You will all share magical gifts as you will be triplets...for instance, since Harry is a Parselmouth, you will all be able to speak the tongue and this will hold true for all magical gifts and traits as the ritual uses all of our blood. The Parseltongue should make it a bit easier to make Dumbledore panic and also have conversations that no one can understand."

Draco smirked at the thought of having the gift of Parseltongue. Most purebloods would have gladly killed to have that gift in their blood line. Harry just stood there with Hermione still clinging to him grinning happily. "Young Draco had a natural gift that allowed him to be able to see auras which you will share. He will be able to tell you what that is. Hermione had a blocked gift of a natural affinity for animagus magic. That you should all enjoy."

"Blocked?" Hermione let go of Harry to look at Death. Draco walked over to put a calming hand on her shoulder while looking confusedly at Death.

"Yes, Dumbledore had quite a few laws passed that were awful and were never linked to him. One being that those born of muggles would have any special gifts that would be classified as "Family Magic" for a Pureblood to be blocked. He was just as much a bigot as the rest of them dear." Hermione just looked devastated that she had put trust in such a horrible man. "Now the gifts that your grandfather and I will give to you will all be shared as well as Harry's immunity to the unforgivable as that is as much a part of his magic now as any Family Magic." Harry shrugged at the wide eyed looks he got from Hermione and Draco at this comment. Death continued on as if he talked about immunity to the unforgivables every day. "You will be, from this point on, Triplets...Draco, Hermione, and Harry Peverell."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Chapter edited 3/4/17

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

{Parseltongue}

Harry and his new siblings appeared in a field among sheep. Taking a moment to orient themselves, they took deep breaths while trying to gather their thoughts before finally sitting up; they looked at one another and promptly started to laugh.

"Voldemort has tried everything to become immortal and the secret is to annoy your grandfather?" Draco could not maintain his characteristic smirk as he held his stomach while tears rolled down his face.

"You have to admit Harry," Hermione giggled "it is quite funny and unexpected; wizards have spent untold centuries trying to find the secret to immorality and we have achieved this by annoying Death to well…death."

Harry just laughed with his new family and took in the changes in his siblings. They had retained most of their prior looks, but because of the blood adoption they had performed, they now had features that were shared among all three of them. Their noses were all more patrician like Draco's, their cheek bones had changed to look more like Ignotus Peverell, Hermione's hair was less bushy and had more defined curls. The most startling change was that Draco and Hermione both now had killing curse green eyes that matched Harry's perfectly. They were all dressed in simple black robes, courtesy of their new grandfather, so that they would be dressed appropriately when they reached Gringotts.

They finally got control of their laughter and sat looking around at the sheep grazing in the field; still unable to stop smiling.

"We better head off then. The sooner we get to the bank, the sooner we can settle into one of the estates that Grandfather told us about and the sooner we can make plans. Plus we need to get wands soon. I can call the night bus without one and do _some_ wandless magic, but I do not want to be without one for long." Draco and Hermione both nodded at Harry's suggestion and got to their feet.

The trio took turns brushing the grass and dirt from each other before walking among the sheep until they reached the nearby road. There, Harry held out his hand, and with a loud BANG the night bus arrived. After a frantic ride through England, where they were proud that they managed to stay in their seats, they reached the Leaky Cauldron. They paid the night bus operator with the few coins that had been in the pockets of their robes before they made their way into the pub that hid the entrance to the Wizarding world.

The pub did not seem any different to the three teens; it was still just as dark and grimy looking as it had in their prior timeline. They ignored the stares of the customers as they walked through the main room of the pub to the courtyard in the back that housed the entry for Diagon Alley. Harry quickly opened the entrance by using his finger to focus his magic in place of his wand.

The alley was a welcome and beautiful sight for the three siblings; they stood quietly for a moment taking in the bustling activity. It had been mostly abandoned before they had been killed, but right now it was a hive of activity and there were families everywhere. They looked at the familiar shops as they walked along the alley knowing that a shopping spree was in their future.

Hermione was particularly excited about the clothes they could get from muggle London. She told the boys of past shopping trips she had made to vintage clothing stores and how wonderful it would be to not have to search for a vintage style that she loved. The boys were both amused at this and a little bit frightened of what clothing they may have to wear from this time period.

They paused as they passed the Daily Prophet where they saw a paper on display that showed the day's date as June 2nd, 1977.

As they moved closer to the bank, both Harry and Hermione noticed that the people in the alley would briefly seem to glow as they walked past. It was a bit distracting as each person seemed to have different colors or brightness to them. Every time they would catch a glimpse of the glow, it would disappear just a moment later.

"Um…Draco?" Harry seemed thoughtful and a bit confused as he scrunched up his nose.

"Yes Harry?" Draco raised a brow at his new brother.

"Why are people glowing?"

Draco came to a stop before grabbing their hands and pulling them to a quiet corner in front of Potage's Cauldron shop. "You can see the auras? He asked quietly.

"Oh is that what that is?" Hermione said with interest. Death did say something about you having that type of Family Magic." Hermione was now looking at everyone in the alley with interest.

"Yes, you will be able to choose when you see them soon. It's a fairly easy gift to control. Alright then, focus on someone and just…relax…take a breath…and…will the color to surround someone." Draco waited until the other two nodded that they could see a person surrounded by their auras. This process took Harry and Hermione about fifteen minutes of concentration. "Alright then. The colors denote power. The lowest magical would be red followed by orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and then the most powerful would be violet. It is said that violet can glow the brightest and can look almost white, where a squib will be a dark brown with maybe a bit of red in it to show that they can't use magic. Muggles don't glow at all."

"So, we are basically seeing an outward manifestation of magical cores." Hermione stated with satisfaction as she realized what the auras represented. This would come in handy. She looked over to her brothers and gasped at how bright they glowed. "Well, I guess there is now doubt that we should be powerful…you two are very bright and are definitely edging into white."

"What? I have never even seen a wizard that was indigo." Draco concentrated on his siblings and was amazed to see that Hermione was right. "Even Dumbledore was only green with a bit of blue. Harry was a bit more of a true blue right before I died."

"Well…apparently being related to Death has perks." said Harry with a cheeky grin. Harry was thinking of all the ways that this skill would be helpful to them while at Hogwarts. His smile faded as he thought about Hogwarts. "Draco? Were either of your parents able to see auras?" That could possibly cause problems.

"No, I was the first person in the Malfoy family to show the ability in four generations." Harry and Hermione took deep breaths of relief. They would not want anyone to be able to 'see' how powerful they were.

After a almost half an hour where Harry and Hermione managed to gain enough control so that they could consciously decide when to see auras and to stop them from showing, the trio decided to continue on their way to Gringotts.

As Hermione and Harry passed the poem upon entering Gringotts, they snickered at the memory of the dragon they had escaped upon. _Been there and done that._ Hermione thought with a wince at the memory of being so high in the air on yet another creature she had no hope of controlling. They would have to find out where the Hufflepuff cup was located since Bellatrix would still be in school at this time and had not been told to guard it yet. Hermione was determined to not have to try and ride a dragon to safety again; she still hated to fly with a passion, mainly because every time she did fly, she was in danger and riding some magical creature.

The three went directly to an empty teller and bowed their heads in unison. "May your gold multiply and your enemies fall." Harry spoke in a steady voice just as his grandfather had advised.

The goblin was astonished at the traditional greeting. "May your vaults multiply and your enemies be destroyed. How can the Goblin Nation help you three today?"

"We need to take an inheritance test. We were told by our father that we would have unclaimed vaults located here and that upon his death we should come to claim our inheritance before we apply to Hogwarts." Draco drawled.

"Very well. Follow me." The goblin hoped off his stool and motioned for the trio to follow him through a doorway behind the counters. They followed the goblin through a dark hallway to an office that said Brodlig: Head of Inheritances and Wills. Upon entering they again nodded as one to the goblin seated behind the desk and issued their greeting.

"These three wish to do an inheritance test Master Brodlig."

"I see. And who might you three be?"

Draco stepped forward and nodded to the goblin again in respect before he began the introductions.

"I am Draco Peverell; this is my sister Hermione Peverell, and my brother Harry Peverell." It was obvious that Draco was pleased with introducing his siblings for the first time.

The two goblins both had looks of shock on their faces for a moment before they could compose themselves.

"We shall see, that line has been thought to be extinct for centuries and the vaults unclaimed." Brodlig said with a grin full of sharp teeth.

Hermione spoke this time. "Our family has always known that the vaults were here and that they would be safe in goblin hands until such time as we would come to claim them. Our father insisted that the time would be now as he could no longer see to our care." Her voice was soft and as cultured as any Pureblood lady. Death and their grandfather had made sure that Harry and Hermione would be able to fit in just as well as Draco would as their heirs and as the heirs of an Ancient and Nobel House.

The goblins continued to be amazed at the polite respect shown by the wizards and witch before them. They certainly acted per the old traditions like the Peverells once did. Most of the old Pureblood families had forgotten or simply discontinued with the traditions that had been used between the Goblin Nation and wizards, which the goblins found to be an insult. Pulling out a knife, bowl, quill and parchment, Brodlig placed the items on the front of his desk.

"For the inheritance test, I will need each of you prick your finger and let seven drops of blood fall into the bowl."

They each stepped up to the desk and followed the instructions according to their original age. They had already decided on their birth order when they had decided that they would celebrate birthday on July 31 as Harry had never really celebrated his birthday before. None of the three so much as flinched as they ran the knife along their fingers and ensured that the correct amount of blood was provided. Once they had all finished Draco and Hermione turned to Harry to heal their fingers, as he was stronger with wandless magic. The goblins noticed the wandless magic but said nothing.

Brodlig then picked up the quill and placed the tip into the bowl. The blood of the three was pulled into the quill with an odd slurping sound. Once the blood was all contained inside the quill, Brodlig placed the tip of the quill on the parchment and let go as it began to write.

Brodlig's eyes widened at the information on the finished parchment.

 **Draco Tartarus, Hermione Hecate, and Harry Hades Peverell**

 **Born: July 31, 1960**

 **Father: Ignotus Helios Peverell Mother: Bia Annette Nettles**

 **Vaults Owned:**

 **Vault 12: 6 Billion Galleons, 3.8 Billion Sickles, 4.2 million Knuts**

 **Vault 13: Family heirlooms. Value: Unknown.**

 **Estates Owned:**

 **Peverell Manor: Yorkshire**

 **Peverell Cottage: Bath**

 **The Hall: Devonshire**

"Well now, everything is in order. I have your new keys for the two family vaults here." Brodlig pulled six gold keys out of the drawer in his desk and handed two to each of the siblings in front of him. He then pulled out cards that looked like muggle credit cards and moneybags that had been spelled to be bottomless. "These will allow you make purchases directly from your vault in the muggle world and the bags are warded so that they will only allow the three of you to access your money. Your vaults and keys are automatically keyed to your blood once the inheritance test completes."

Brodlig then pulled three small black boxes out of another drawer in his desk. "These are the family rings. This one is for the oldest, and denotes that you are the Head and the Lord of the family." Draco took the ring and placed it on the ring finger of his right hand. With a small flash, the ring resized as it recognized Draco as the first Head of the Peverell family in centuries. The ring was white gold and the sides were designed with black roses where the stems were climbing the band of the ring to end with an open bloom that had petals set with onyx. The open onyx petals surrounded the main stone, which was an emerald that was bright enough that it matched their eyes. When Harry placed his ring on his finger Brodlig explained that his was the heir ring, which would be replaced with a family ring when Draco produced an heir. Hermione's family ring was a more delicate version of her brother's. "The Peverell rings are goblin made and are charmed to protect you from mild curses and will heat up if they are near some potions. Here is a list of curses and potions they are keyed to protect from." The list was handed over to Draco. "Would you like to see your vaults now?" Draco nodded respectfully; he had never seen the goblins act so courteous before, even to his father.

The three nodded as one again and followed the original goblin that had shown them to the inheritance office. After a bracing ride that caused all three to have windblown hair, the three disembarked and were lead to their money vault first where they scooped handfuls of money into each of their bags. It did not even look like they had taken anything from the vault when they were finished as coins filled almost every inch of the space in the vault. They then walked a short distance to the next vault and looked in awe at the books, trunks, and priceless artifacts that were organized around the room.

"Right then," Hermione was always the most organized. "The family wands should all be located to the left in a black case, and then we will find trunks that we can use for school as these look much nicer than what the stores will have, and then we will just pick a few things that we would like to take with us now, alright?"

The two boys nodded and moved to the black case that was on the left wall. Draco opened the doors and found family wands of all types that had been used by Peverells throughout time. There were also three very new wands with a letter resting on top . Harry grabbed the letter and read aloud.

 _Children,_

 _I thought you may be wondering about your new middle names. I thought that it would be fitting for you to have names so that you would know, even if no one else does, that you are Death's Heirs. Tartarus was the Greek god of the Depths of the Underworld and is also the place where souls are judged after death. As the Eldest I thought this was fitting for Draco. I Choose Hecate for Hermione as it is the name of the Greek goddess of magic, witchcraft, ghosts, and the undead. I thought that it was a lovely name for a lovely girl. And for the youngest, Harry, I choose Hades, the Greek god of the dead and ruler of the underworld. You are a part of the family of Death, and these names shall remind you of your new family and that we will be here always._

 _We also felt that you should all have new wands; although you may have found matches with the family wands, these will suit you much better. As you know there is nothing is stronger than a wand made by death. The elder wand is now just a wand as the stone is now just a stone and the cloak is just a cloak; none are Deathly Hallows. All three of your new wands have two types of wood; Elder and Yew, which was taken from the same trees at the same time. All three contain my own and Death's blood as the cores. They are identical as you are triplets. They will never change their loyalty like the original Hallows could. They will be loyal to you in this life and the next. Use them well._

 _We decided that you three, as our heirs, should also have cloaks provided by Death. It simply did not seem right that the Potters had enjoyed one of his cloaks for so long and his own heirs go without. Your new cloaks will be found in the three black trunks that are sitting right beside this wand case. Your initials are on each trunk as they have been made for you; Hermione, yours is the one that has the black roses etched around your name. The black rose is a symbol of death and very beautiful. This will keep you and Harry from getting your trunks mixed up unless he is purposefully being irritating. Take anything that you desire from here as it is yours._

 _We will be watching you. I am sure that you will do great things and provide Death and myself with great entertainment._

 _Be well my grandchildren,_

 _Grandfather and D._

The three shared a look and then pulled their new wands from their places in the wand case. White and silver sparks shot from all three as the triplets held their new wands for the first time. They were very powerful and sent warmth through their bodies as the wands connected to their magical cores. Three identical smirks appeared on the sibling's faces.

"Well now, why don't we start filling those trunks?" Harry quipped happily.

They filled their new trunks with books on all their school subjects; they also found some books on subjects that were no longer offered at Hogwarts like Enchanting, Spell Creation and Elemental Magic. Hermione was like a five year old given free rein in a candy store as she packed away books. It was a good thing that each trunk had three lockable compartments as she was placing books in each of the trunks to be sorted at home. Each found Jewelry that they liked and packed away for themselves; Hermione had found a very lovely set of hair clips that matched the design on their rings. After an hour spent looking through their vault and packing things away to take to their new home, they were ready to hit the shops.

Once they had shrunk all three trunks they took another bracing ride in the cart that made Draco fuss with his hair for a moment after they were back on solid ground. Once he had finished getting himself together, the trio all nodded in unison to the goblin they had approached upon entering the bank.

"May we ask the name of the goblin that has helped us today?" Harry asked.

"Gorshank. It was an honor to serve the Lords and Lady Peverell today." The goblin said with respect and a small bow to the three teens. A few of the customers looked at the teens with interest at having garnered the respect and deference of a goblin since such a thing was rarely seen.

One gentleman was clearly recognizable as a Malfoy, specifically Draco's grandfather; Abraxas Malfoy watched the goblin bow to the three teens but could not over hear the conversation from his place across the room.

"Orion," he drawled to his companion, a man with black hair and silver eyes. "Do you know who those three are?" He gave a slight nod in the trio's direction.

Orion Black was also looking at the trio with interest. "I have no idea. They must be purebloods and wealthy to have garnered such treatment from the goblins." Both men continued to watch as the trio spoke to the goblin for a moment before they before they received another short bow. The siblings smiled at the goblin as they nodded their heads together in respect before turning and leaving the bank. Both men waiting at the counter were left wondering about the three teens as they completed their business.

Once the trio was back in the alley, Draco led them into Twilfitt & Tatting's first thing. There he proceeded to order stylish new wardrobes for each of them. He made both Harry and Hermione spend time trying on different styles and colors of robes and wizarding wear before deciding on what colors and styles suited them best. Draco arranged for most of the clothing to be picked up the next day by one of the siblings or an elf, if there was any located at Peverell Manor. He also made sure that each of them were dressed properly to be seen in wizarding public before leaving the store.

Draco wore a dark silver robe with black embroidery around the edges. Hermione looked beautiful in her cream fitted robe with green vines and black roses embroidered into the fabric. Harry wore what seemed to be plain black robes at first glance, but hints of green could be seen when he shifted. Draco had the seamstress add bright green embroidery to make the green in his robes stand out a bit more. All three were dressed to perfection and were the subject of speculation among those that had decided to visit Diagon Alley for their shopping. Everyone wanted to know who these three young people were.

The trio purchased many of their school supplies while stocking up on things that they knew that they would need for the rest of the summer. Books on animagus training and laws were bought from Flourish & Blotts. They were happy to see that Mr. Flourish had not died and was still happily serving customers in his store. They had known his son as he took over the shop when his father had died in the first war, and he had hated having to deal with customers.

They stocked up on quills, inks, and stationary at the stationary store and bought almost every type of ingredient available in the Apothecary.

Draco then led them into Knockturn Alley, were they made sure to stay together and to stand tall and proud. Draco was adamant that attitude was extremely important when entering Knockturn Alley. As they passed through the alley, a few disreputable characters would start to approach the well-dressed teens, only to back away at the identical Avada Kedavra green glares.

They were able to find some rare potions ingredients as well as some that were only "slightly illegal". Harry and Hermione shared a grin at how excited Draco was over those ingredients. He had always been good at potions and was looking forward to experimenting like his godfather had.

In Borgin and Burkes they were happy to find four books written in Parseltongue that all three could read. The first was a potions book written by a descendant of Salazar Slytherin, two were on wizarding culture by unknown authors, and the last was a book called 'Parsel Spells and Spell Creation' that had been written by Salazar Slytherin himself. Draco had nearly lost his composure at his find, but was able to mask his excitement enough that he was able to bargain with Mr. Burk for the 'unreadable' texts. They found some more books that none of them had ever seen before from a small bookshop they found tucked away in a corner of the alley. Some detailed old family wards that few knew how to create anymore.

Knockturn Alley was also where they purchased wand holsters. They were spelled against the summing charm and could be triggered to release the wand by pushing a bit of magic through the holster. The trio thought that this was much better than a password as someone could easily silence them and it would take practice to break the silencing charm both wandless and silently.

Though they were being very productive and buying things that they needed, they spent hours going from shop to shop, spending money and having fun that they had been denied while fighting a war that their elders had placed on their shoulders.

Hermione took delight in leading the boys into muggle London where she outfitted them all in stylish vintage clothing that she would have died for in her previous life. The boys allowed her to pick all the muggle clothing as she was so excited. Draco had to admit that she had great taste when it came to muggle clothing and that she made sure that he and Harry both looked good.

Hermione made sure to take Draco in to some shops where they looked at muggle technology and items that muggle children played with since his parents had never taken him into the muggle world. He became completely fascinated with a Rubik's Cube that Harry happily bought for him. Harry then had to drag Draco by his elbow around the rest of the department store until Hermione confiscated the cube and told him he could have it back at home. A blush stained Draco's cheeks as he pouted for a few moments. His attention was quickly caught by a television that was on display. Draco was amazed that even in the 70's; the muggles were not nearly as backwards as he had been raised to believe.

Harry and Draco stepped into an ally way to shrink more of their many bags to place into their pockets after yet another store. They had to do this a few times while they had been shopping. Hermione was still playing around with her ability to see auras and was startled to see a few murky brown glows coming from people close by. She had noticed that there had been at least one person glowing brown in almost every shopping district they had gone to that day. One of the murky brown glows was being followed by a very short yellow glow.

"Draco? Murky brown denotes a squib right?"

Draco looked up at the question "Yes, why do you ask?" He finished with the bags and joined her at the opening of the alley they had retreated to. Harry came up on Hermione's other side.

"It's just that we are nowhere near Diagon Alley right now; we haven't been near the alley for a few hours now. But, Draco, I have seen quite a few murky browns auras today while we have been in muggle London. That one there is being followed by a very pretty sunshine yellow." Hermione said with a slight nod of her head at the mother and son that had stopped to look into a window of a toy store.

"I never thought that there were that many squibs. I haven't spent any time in muggle areas and haven't made a habit of looking at random people's auras though. Mainly I checked to see how powerful people I knew were." He looked at the magical child and squib across the street thoughtfully. "I guess it does make since though. Most purebloods would cast squibs out of their families and send them to live in the muggle world when they were not able to do magic. I don't think they ever bothered to keep track of what happened to them. They simply just disappeared off the family trees." Harry nodded as he thought about the Black family tree at Grimmauld Place with its many members that had been blasted off the tree.

"Hmm." Hermione hummed to herself. The boys could see the wheels starting to turn in her head. The boys pulled her along as they began to walk and figured that she will clue them in to whatever she was thinking about whenever she worked out whatever theory had popped into her head. Harry was sure that it was going to involve extensive research. "I think I will probably want to make a trip back to Diagon Alley when the students are coming in for their supplies." She eventually stated with no further explanation.

They returned to the alley as they had just a few more stops to make in the Wizarding world. One was to St. Mungo's where they had one of the healers fix Harry's eyesight and inoculate him for wizarding illnesses since he had never had them before. Hermione had been inoculated on her first trip into the wizarding world with McGonagall. Harry was mostly excited that he would never again have to stumble around looking for his glasses or worry about losing them in a duel.

They then went to the Eeylops Owl Emporium and purchased a handsome black Eagle Owl that bonded with Draco, though he insisted that they would all use him for correspondence. Draco named him Ares. They would have to Owl the headmaster for positions with the seventh year class soon.

The last stop was to the Magical Menagerie where they looked for familiars for Harry and Hermione. Hermione found a sleek black cat that she quickly bonded with and named Eris and Harry found a beautiful black mamba that insisted that he be chosen. He decided to name his familiar Charon since they seemed to be sticking with Greek deity names. They had Ares, the god of war; Eris, the goddess of discord and Charon, the ferryman of the underworld.

As they paid for their new familiars, the clerk looked at the three black animals with a small bit of apprehension. Both the cat and snake had been hard to sell as they were aggressive and would allow no one to touch them and the owl looked just as menacing. When she voiced concern for the cat and snake the trio just smirked and handed over the necessary coins without saying a word.

With their purchases in their pockets and their familiars held close in their arms, they each grabbed onto the small metal ring which the goblins had turned into a portkey to take them to their homes. Draco made sure everyone was ready and then called out in a clear voice "Peverell Manor."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Chapter edited 3/4/17

As I edit Chapters I will be removing some of the Author notes as I don't there to be to much added to the chapters.

lunaz- the reason I chose to have Draco be the eldest sibling was because I felt that would be the decision they would make if given the choice. Harry has always wanted to be "just Harry," and I also felt that Draco would feel the most comfortable in being the Head of Family since he had been trained to take over for his father at some point.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

{Parseltongue}

The trio stood in a beautiful entry hall. The room was bright and airy with the floor tiled in cream colored marble with black rose accents in black marble. Double staircases rose from both sides of the entry hall to meet in the center of the landing for the second floor. A door to the trio's right opened into what looked like a formal sitting room. To their left they could see two double doors that were closed. They could walk under the landing into a hallway that lead to another part of the house that they could not see from the front door. The home was in excellent condition and had not been left to ruin like the Grimmauld place had been in the future.

"I can't believe I didn't fall on my face." Harry said with surprise while looking at the floor he was standing on. He had never had much luck with magical forms of travel.

"I think that Death probably added in some grace along with more etiquette knowledge to his 'gifts.' That way we would not be an embarrassment as his heirs since we had no pureblood training before, Harry. I certainly feel more graceful, and speaking to the Goblins was not nearly as stressful as I thought it would be despite the lessons we received." Hermione looked thoughtful as she gazed around their new home.

POP. A house elf was bowing before them and smiling with excitement. This elf was dressed in black vest type uniform with the Peverell crest on the breast.

"Long time has Viddy been waiting for her family to return. Welcome home."

This house elf seemed to be better dressed and could speak better than other house elves they had come into contact with during their first lives. It was clear that she had been well treated if she had any contact with wizards prior to themselves. Her smile was wide and so bright as she gazed at her new masters that they could not help but smile in return.

Harry could not help but be grateful that Kreacher had explained to Hermione that house elves needed to be bonded to a family to keep their magic stable; otherwise she would be having a fit at the thought that they owned house elves. Knowing that un-bonded house elves would eventually die because they had no one to ground their wild magic changed her goal from freeing house elves to making sure that they were happy and safe.

"Hello Viddy. Can you show us around and tell us about any other elves that serve the Peverell family? I am Harry, by the way. These are my siblings Draco and Hermione."

The small elf bounced a little in excitement, but was much calmer than Dobby had ever been. "Yes Master Harry. Follow me and I will show you around. There are three of us elves here. I take care of the house but is a personal elf. My mate Yobe takes care of the estate. And our little one is training to care for the house alone as I is a personal elf." Viddy began by leading the trio through the hallway towards the back of the Manor. A large open ballroom ran the length of the house and had French doors opening onto a terrace along the back wall. The room was massive and elegantly decorated with darker greens against cream. "There are five other house elves that be serving the family. There bes two at Peverell Cottage and three at The Hall. They bes taking care of the houses and grounds. I am the only house elf that bes taking care of masters." As she declared that she would be the only elf to take care of them the trio noticed a determined and possessive glint in her eyes.

They spent two hours looking into rooms and learning where everything was located in the stately manor. It had three floors and seven bedrooms that each had its own luxurious bathroom. The dining room had a massive oak table that could sit twenty people without being expanded. The formal sitting room they had seen at the entry hall was decorated with dainty furniture that was meant to impress guests and was located across from the formal receiving room that held the main floo connection for guests; this had been the room with the closed doors in the entry hall. The entire house had tasteful decorations and artifacts.

There was even a portrait hall with pictures of Peverells that had already passed on. They had been excited to see the trio and had asked many questions when they found that their home was once again occupied. The trio finally escaped to explore more after promising to visit the nosy portraits again.

The three teens chose the largest of the bedrooms in the manor, which were located on the second floor, so that they would be close to each other. Harry's room was done with dark greens, warm browns, and a cream color combination that made him feel relaxed and almost like he was outside. His window faced the front lawn which was mainly open space with a few trees dotting the landscape here and there. He had always felt a bit claustrophobic when locked into his small room at the Dursley's, so this room was perfect for him.

Draco chose the room across the hall from Harry's that faced the back part of the estate which was surrounded by a forest. His room was mainly cream with accents of black and green. His furniture was mahogany that was so dark it was almost black and gave the room a masculine feel that still managed to be elegant.

Hermione's room was at the end of the hall, which put her in the middle of her brothers. Her room was decorated in lavender, pale green and the same cream that seemed to balance everything out throughout the house. Her room was lined with bookshelves and had deep window seats that she could lounge on while reading.

On the other side of the landing was a library that made Hermione squeal and do a happy dance, a potions lab that Draco inspected with a critical eye, a study that contained a large fireplace with a floo connection that could only be used by those had been keyed into the wards, and a large sitting room with overstuffed couches and chairs. They decided that this would be their family floor and that the sitting room would be their family room for when they just wanted to relax together.

In the study, Harry and Hermione watched as Draco found the ward ledger and tied the three of them into the family wards. There were a few wards that he did not recognize and that he would have to look up in one of their new books to see how they worked, but the ones he recognized reassured them as to their safety. He made sure that he updated the ledger to allow only them to apparate directly to the house and make portkeys through the wards. Anyone that wanted to visit would have to be given a portkey or given temporary access to the floo.

Draco decided that they needed to be extra cautious and so created emergency portkeys out of necklaces they had chosen from their vault. All three had a black rose, which the trio had started calling the Peverell Rose since they could be found throughout the manor, etched onto the surface. Like the family rings they were decorated with onyx and emeralds. Hermione charmed them so that no one would be able to remove them and they would be activated automatically if one of them was unconscious and injured while the others were not near. If this feature was ever activated, Viddy was directed to take them straight to St Mungo's.

The library was even larger than the one at Hogwarts and had books on every subject imaginable. Hermione found a charmed parchment on a pedestal that listed all books in this library as well as the libraries in the other two Peverell homes. They could tap the parchment with their wands and search for books by title, author, subject matter, and then could ask Viddy to get the book if it was not in Peverell Manor. Hermione was determined to take a copy of the parchment with her when they went shopping again and to Hogwarts so that they could ensure that they were not buying more of the same thing. The boys eventually had to drag her out of the library or they would have never seen her again.

They took a quick inventory of the lab and found that the equipment was all in great condition. They would not have to buy cauldrons for a while as there were at least two of each for use in the lab and they had picked up two for each of them to take to school. They unpacked the bags of ingredients they had purchased and placed them in the store cupboard, where they found a preservation spell had been placed. Draco was clearly pleased that their ingredients would be well protected here. They also found another cupboard where they could place vials of completed potions under the same preservation spell. Draco had plans to take many healing potions with them to school since Harry seemed to always get hurt for some reason or another. He hoped that would not happen this year, but was not going to hold his breath.

They gathered in their new family room after asking Viddy to put the rest of their things away in their chosen rooms and if she would also arrange something for them to eat for dinner. Draco also asked if she would be able to pick up the rest of their purchases from the alley tomorrow and gave her permission to use the vaults to stock the kitchens with food now that the house was occupied. Viddy popped away after telling them that dinner would be up in a little bit.

Draco sat on the floor and used the couch as a back rest. He summoned a lap desk, parchment and quill after taking a moment to get comfortable. Harry and Hermione spread out on the ends of the cream colored couch; each sighing at how comfortable it was. Harry had his feet dangling over one arm while his head was near Draco's and Hermione's. Hermione had lounged on her stomach with her feet in the air.

"Alright, what should I say to the headmaster? Just our names and can we enroll?" Draco tapped the end of his quill against the lap desk while leaning his head back on the cushion so he could see the others.

"I guess the less you say the better. We want to drive him batty, if at all possible, before Death does whatever it is that he has planned." Harry yawned and stared out the window at the beautiful landscape. "It should be easy to make him crazy if his wand is already acting up now that it is no longer a Deathly Hollow. He should be upset about that and it should bother him that Peverells show up at his school right when he starts having problems with it."

Hermione nodded at Harry's comment as she looked at the book on animagus forms she already had opened while reaching out with her other hand to play with Draco's hair. After a few moments of silence, where Draco closed his eyes and relaxed, he sat back up and scratched away at the parchment with his quill. After a few minutes he read the letter for his sibling's approval.

 _Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,_

 _My siblings and I would like to enroll for our final year at your school to prepare for our NEWT exams. We have been privately tutored by our father, and at his death, he requested we complete our education at your school. We would each be taking the same courses which include: Defense against the Dark Arts, Arithmancy, Runes, Transfiguration, Potions, Herbology, History of Magic, and Charms._

 _Our father wanted to ensure that we would have proper instruction for our NEWTS if he was unable to continue our instruction himself._

 _We await your reply,_

 _Draco Tartarus Peverell_

 _Hermione Hecate Peverell_

 _Harry Hades Peverell_

"Well, that should be sufficient to get his attention." Hermione nodded approvingly as she looked over Draco's shoulder. Draco used a crest seal with a stylized _P_ surrounded by roses to stamp the black wax he fixed to the flap of the envelope before whistling for Ares. After sending the owl off to deliver the letter the three started to plan for Hogwarts.

"What house should we go into?" Draco and Hermione looked at Harry with questioning looks when he sat up to look expectantly at his siblings.

"Harry, the hat will have to sort us again." Draco drawled with an amused smirk.

"Yes, but I talked the hat out of putting me into Slytherin like it wanted to the first time around, so we can choose where we want to be. I think we should stay together."

"You talked the…right." Draco's eyes looked as wide as saucers as he stared at Harry. Hermione was also looking at Harry with wide eyes. He had never told her that he could have been in Slytherin or that he had infloonced the hat's decision.

"Well, Hagrid told me that all bad wizards came from there when he took me to Diagon Alley the first time. Then Ron did the same thing on the first train ride. I thought that if they both thought that Slytherin house made people turn bad then they must be right. I can see now that it was Dumbledore manipulating me into the 'Gryffindor Golden Boy' now, but then, I just did not want to turn out bad and evil like my family already said I was. I figured that it would be better to not be in Slytherin even if the hat said that I could be great there. " He shrugged.

Hermione closed her book and sat up so that she could see Harry clearly. "I did not realize that he had manipulated you as far back as that Harry." Draco also seemed upset at this revelation. Slytherin house was certainly not an easy house to be sorted into, but it was not evil or bad and did not teach children how to be bad and evil people either. Quite a few of his housemates had died fighting against their parents and Voldemort at the Battle of Hogwarts.

"My whole life was one big manipulation Hermione." Harry sighed at the question he could see in his siblings' eyes. "Dumbledore left me on my Aunt's doorstep the same night that my parents died. Sirius was not in prison yet and had even come to check on us when he noticed Peter had not been at home. He could have taken me then, only to be told by Hagrid that Dumbledore sent _him_ to pick me up. He already knew that my parents were dead and that I had survived. He basically kidnapped me and left me with abusive muggles that would never tell me about magic and would try to beat 'the nonsense' out of me." Harry made air quotes as he talked about the Dursleys. "He was the Supreme Mugwump and allowed Sirius to go to Azkaban with no trial. Sirius told me once that he waited for Dumbledore to help him but he never did, even though Sirius told Hagrid to tell Dumbledore that he was going after Peter when Hagrid took me away. The only reason to not even ask Sirius about what had happened that night would be if he _wanted_ him out of the way. He wanted to make sure that I knew nothing about the wizarding world and that I would trust him completely. Every year Hermione, every year we almost died, and he did nothing. Then he made sure that I went back to that Hell on Earth every damn summer where he knew how I was treated because I told him when I begged not to go back there. He even sent me back after Voldemort used my blood to come back. That would cause any blood wards to fail against Voldemort _if_ there had even been blood wards there in the first place."

Hermione looked sick as she realized just how much Dumbledore had messed with Harry's life. "Oh Harry." She sniffed as she hugged her brother. Draco squeezed Harry's knee from his place on the floor while he tried to control the anger he felt toward the old fool that had messed with Harry.

Draco's face was furious. "Harry, how often were you beaten?" Hermione pulled away from Harry so that she could see his face.

"Oh, well. I don't know." Harry was looking at his hands that he had clenched in his lap.

"Tell us Harry." Hermione said softly. She had never been able to get him to talk about his home life while they were in Hogwarts before, and had never guessed that it had been that bad. She felt that she had failed as a friend and promised to herself that Harry would never go through something like that again. "This is something that you need to talk about. We will make sure that you will never have to see those people again this time around." Draco nodded his agreement, although he wanted to have a few hours of those disgusting muggles time to show them how much of a mistake it was to mess with Harry.

"Alright." Harry continued to stare at his hands as he whispered. "I don't know how many times it happened. Mostly it was just when Vernon would get angry or Dudley wanted to use me as a punching bag. Aunt Petunia would sometimes try to whack me with a pan or make me burn myself at the stove since she was too week to actually hurt me with her hand. I think the first time I remember Vernon actually hitting me was before we started elementary school. I would have been four. I dropped a plate of eggs before I could get it to the table. Vernon hit me a few times before he tossed me into my cupboard for messing up their breakfast. It would happen a few times every year after that. He wouldn't hit me where someone would be able to see the bruises and would mostly hit me in the summer so that I would not be seen at school."

"Hold on," Draco interrupted. "Cupboard? And what do you mean _their_ breakfast Harry? It was your breakfast too, right?" Draco had an awful feeling that he was wrong to think that they had shared their breakfast with Harry at all. Draco was now inspecting Harry for signs of malnourishment. With their new lives, however, they all had brand new bodies that did not have the scars and signs of abuse or torture from their pasts. He still felt an urge to give Harry something to eat though. It was bad enough that he had been beaten but the bastards had starved him too.

"My cupboard. My first letter from Hogwarts was addressed to my cupboard under the stairs. After that I got to sleep in Dudley's second bedroom."

"His…his second bedroom." Hermione closed her eyes as she whispered.

"Yes, it is where he kept most of his broken toys. I was able to fix some of them."

Draco turned his head away from Harry so that he could get his anger under control. He had guessed that Harry had a bad home life while Death and their grandfather were explaining things before the adoption ceremony, but he had never imagined that Harry had lived through actual Hell on Earth. It made him feel physically sick at finding out what Harry's life had been like No one had ever bothered to make sure that Harry was cared for. Hermione placed a hand on his shoulder causing their eyes to meet. Both were thinking of the payback they would each like to take with the people that made a mockery of what family should mean.

"The food, Harry?" Hermione would not let the subject of the food go. Harry had always lost weight over the summer holidays but had never told her that they withheld food from him. She remembered that he had asked that she and Ron send him a few things one summer, but could not stand to think that he had nothing else to eat other than what they had sent.

"They would not feed me much. Sometimes they would give me something once a day, if I was lucky. A can of soup or maybe some bread and cheese that they pushed through the flap on the door. Sometimes they would not bother to give me anything. They kept Hedwig locked in her cage so that she could not get out, so I shared what they gave me with her. She couldn't even hunt. She would have been better off without me" Tears were falling onto the backs of Harry's hands as he thought about his first friend.

"Those…show them…stupid…pay for it…evil…muggles." Neither Harry nor Hermione could make out much of what Draco was mumbling under his breath, but Harry could tell that it did not bode well for the Dursleys. Draco knew some fairly dark spells thanks to his upbringing, and though he had never been one for torturing muggles, he would be pleased to practice on these particular wastes of space.

"They haven't done anything yet Draco. It's okay now." Harry tried to reassure his brother.

"IT IS NOT OKAY!" Draco yelled. "It's not." He continued in a much quieter voice as he pulled his knees up to his chest so that he could rest his forehead on them.

"He is right, Harry. What they did to you, what that monster Dumbledore allowed them to do to you, will never be okay. They are every bit as bad as the Death Eaters were. They tried to destroy everything that makes you the wonderful person that you are. They may not have done anything yet, but they will if given the opportunity." She was unsure about punishing someone that had yet to commit the crime, but she would definitely keep her eye on those three, and there would be hell to pay if they became the same monsters they had in the previous timeline. Dumbledore just had more things that she would have to make sure that he paid for before Death got hold of him.

Harry blushed as he basked in the feeling of having people care about what happened to him for the first time he could remember.

"So Harry, where do you think we should go then?" Draco asked as he lifted his head from his knees. It was an obvious change of topic back to their sorting, but he knew that Harry was still very uncomfortable with talking about his abuse. He would make sure to encourage Harry to talk about it and would make sure that Harry knew that he could talk to him whenever he needed to.

"Well, I don't want to be in Gryffindor with my parents; that would be too strange. I would probably kill Pettigrew, which would be bad…I guess. Slytherins get too much scrutiny and would be avoided by the other houses. So, I think either Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw?" Harry looked expectantly from Hermione to Draco and back again.

"I think that we should do Hufflepuff." Hermione started to bounce excitedly in her seat. Draco looked at her like she was mad to want to go into Hufflepuff. "Just think about it Draco." She said as she caught his look. "They are the most underestimated house; no one would expect any type of havoc to come from Hufflepuff." Her grin was positively devious and would have made Death proud.

Draco also started to smirk as he thought about the pros of moving into the house that everyone normally wrote off. He had been a bit worried that they would be separated while at school once they were sorted and liked the thought that they would all be together. They could certainly get away with a lot if they were being underestimated. He knew that most of their teachers had even thought of Hufflepuff as the house of students that could not manage to get into the other three houses; whether it was because of lack of power and bravery, lack of brains, or lack of cunning and ambition. McGonagall and Snape had been the worst of the professors but had certainly not been the only ones that ascribed to the house prejudices.

They pondered over the reactions that they would receive from the teachers if they went into Hufflepuff. They already knew that Professor Slughorn would be the only change of Head of House for them as he was the Potions Master before Snape graduated. They might have to endure one of his parties during the year, but he had been pretty fair in their past timeline. He was mostly interested in making profitable connections for himself.

Professor McGonagall would still be Head of Gryffindor and would be the Transfiguration teacher. She had never been much help when Harry and Hermione had gone to her before, so they decided that she would not be that great of a Head of House if they were choosing where to be placed. The same could be said for Professor Flitwick who would still be Head of Ravenclaw and teach Charms. The Ravenclaws had stolen Luna's things and bullied her unmercifully and the professor never once did anything to put a stop to it.

Professor Sprout would be the Head of Hufflepuff and also teach Herbology. All three felt that they could see the plump woman as a friendly Head of House. She was probably the least prejudiced among the teachers that they knew already and would encourage them to interact with the other houses.

They had no idea who would be teaching the other classes. Hopefully their Defense Against the Dark Arts class would have a competent teacher. Even now the teachers would not stay more than a year or so and they had not had the best of luck in that department. It would be a pleasant surprise if they had a teacher that actually knew what they were talking about while having no desire to kill Harry at the same time.

"I guess I could handle being a badger," Draco leaned his side against the couch facing Harry so that he could prop his cheek on his fist while resting his arm on the cushion. "But are we really going to be trying to lay low? Our power and knowledge will be hard to miss. We all prepared for war while at school and these students will have only learned what they have been taught in classes for the most part, maybe a few pranking spells and jinxes but still, we probably know a lot more then they will when it comes to practical magic."

Harry nodded. He had no intention of dumbing himself down for the masses. He had already done that to try and keep Ron happy. "I think that we will be overlooked for a while just by being in Hufflepuff. They may think that any power we display was just a fluke anyways. If they do notice, we will be able shock them, which is just as much of a plus in my opinion to being overlooked."

"Agreed. It will give us enough time to mess with Dumbledore if they overlook us and if they don't then we will make a lasting impression that may have just as much of an effect as being over looked would. We will only be there a year so it will not matter if we attract attention anyway. It would probably bother him more if we show power from Hufflepuff House than if we blended into the background. More people from the other houses will be open to interacting with us if we are in Hufflepuff as well." Hermione picked her book back up.

"And bonus," Harry reach for a sandwich that had just popped in from the kitchens. "The Hufflepuff common room is located near the kitchens. It will be ridiculously easy to get a snack."

Hermione tossed a pillow at Harry before also grabbing a sandwich.

Draco poured them each a glass of pumpkin juice. "How do you know where the kitchens are?"

"James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and the rat-that-should-die made a map that showed the school, its hidden corridors, and everyone in the castle."

"That would be handy." Draco said as he munched away at his dinner.

"We can make one for each of us if we find time." Harry and Draco nodded at Hermione's idea. It would be wonderful to be able to keep an eye on the Headmaster.

Bellies full the three plotted until they were falling asleep where they sat. Hermione had almost sent Draco into a coma running her fingers through his hair. Viddy came in and pushed them towards their new rooms where they changed into their new night clothes and climbed into bed. As they drifted off they were thinking the same thing. They had siblings. They would take care of each other and never be alone again.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Chapter edited 3/5/17

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

{Parseltongue}

Viddy woke her three new charges for breakfast at eight the next morning as they had requested. They stumbled into the dining room still dressed in their pajamas and with their hair in wild disarray. Harry and Hermione stared at Draco in amazement as he sipped at his coffee while completely oblivious to their stares. He had developed a liking for the strong drink while staying with his godfather, Severus Snape, in the summers and was pretty useless in the mornings if he did not have a cup. Finally realizing he was the subject of observation he cocked his head to the side and gazed at his siblings in confusion.

"What?"

"We have just never seen your hair so messy." Hermione whispered. "It looks so soft and rumpled. I like it." She declared with a grin as Draco blushed and ran his fingers through his blond locks to try and smooth it down a bit. He had just discovered that his hair had become a bit more wild like Harry's now that they were siblings. Though, Hermione's hair had always been a bit wild too, so he was not entirely sure that his hair's new independent streak was Harry's fault or hers. It was a good thing that he could pull off the messy look with style.

Trying to take attention off of his hair, he asked "So what are we doing today?"

"Ohhhh," Hermione started bouncing in her seat as she started telling them about the animagus book she had been reading the night before. She was definitely a morning person while the boys were not. They just kept wide eyes on the bouncing girl as she chattered away. "…so I think we should do it." She looked from one boy to the other expectantly.

"Do what?" Harry asked with his face scrunched cutely up in confusion. Hermione talked really fast when she was excited about something she read…which was often. Draco just looked dazed as he tried to process the conversation. _I need more coffee._ Draco smiled as Viddy brought a fresh pot of coffee the table. _Apparently we have a psychic house elf. Thank bloody Merlin._ Draco sighed in pleasure as he sipped from his new cup of coffee.

"Take the potion that will show us our animagus forms, weren't you listening? The rest of the transformation process is meditation, and Death did say that it would come more naturally now with our affinity to wandless and mind magic. Occlumency and Legilimency should come more naturally to us and with our past history of trying to master them, we should only have to spend our time meditating and organizing our minds so that our memories are secure. It would be catastrophic if Dumbledore knew things from the future." Hermione made a face of disgust at the mention of the Headmaster. "I think that we should be able to build up our defenses before heading off to school as we were not that terrible at it by the time we died. The meditation for the Animagus transformation should work right in with our building our Occlumency barriers."

The thought of finding out what their animagus forms would be was very exciting for the two boys and they agreed to take the potion as soon as it was finished. Draco, being the best of the three at potions set off to begin as soon as the trio left the table. They had all the ingredients listed in Hermione's book since they stocked up in Diagon Alley the day before, so he was able to start brewing immediately.

After adding wormwood to his boiling cauldron and stirring three time counterclockwise, he realized that he was still in his pajamas. He grinned at the realization that he was so comfortable with Harry and Hermione that he did not feel the need to present a flawless facade he had been used to as the heir to the Malfoy family. _Today will just have to be a day we veg out in our pajamas._ As he stirred the potion he could not help the smile that came from the warm feeling in his chest.

Harry and Hermione made their way to their sitting room to wait and read while Draco brewed. Hermione was now reading a book on Enchanting while Harry had chosen The Parseltongue book on Parsel Spells that they had found in Knockturn. Three hours later, Draco came in with three bottles full of orange potion that had small specks of something red floating around in it. Harry could not help but grimace at the thought of how the potion would taste. He had taken too many potions to be a fan of the horrible taste that seemed to be present in all potions.

"Should we take this in here? What if we have a large form?" Harry asked looking around the room.

"I think we should go one at a time so that we can be in the largest open area of the room. That way we can see each other and not be crowded if one of us has a large form. We should also sit down before drinking the potion so that we don't fall over and hurt ourselves. Harry, you go first." Hermione said taking a potion from Draco and handing it to Harry with an expectant look.

Harry took the bottle with a sigh and nodded. He moved closer to the door where there was less furniture and sat on the floor with his legs folded beneath him. Looking at the others he raised the bottle in salute and gulped it down with a grimace at the taste. It had almost no smell, but tasted like burnt chicken and peanut butter mixed together.

There was a feeling of ice sliding through his veins before the world spun as he could feel his body shifting. Once his mind cleared he could tell that he was fairly large and that he was black with four furry paws and a tail. Hermione squealed and transfigured a statue into a mirror and Harry gazed at his new form in excitement. He was a black jaguar. He returned to his human form after 3 minutes of studying every aspect of his animal form in the mirror and being cooed over by Hermione.

He just knew that he was going to love being a large cat and could not wait to be able to run in his new form. Already he could tell that he was going to have a boost to his senses; he could smell more than he could before taking the potion and things seemed to appear a bit sharper.

When he asked Hermione about the change in his senses she explained with her excitement barely contained.

"This potion binds our animal too us, so we are already that animal and have the advantages of the transformation even if we don't complete it. You are now a jaguar. If we had not taken the potion, we would have had to wait until we completed the whole process through meditation and spell work; that process does not bind the animal to the wizard and it takes a lot of effort and time spent in animal form for the wizard and animal to bind in this way. Not many people can afford the potion which is why so many people do not bother with it or with trying the transformation." She showed them the book she had read the night before. It was one that they had bought in Knockturn Alley. "This book explains that the potion used to be used much more too, but was classified as borderline dark because it causes the person taking the potion to have aspects of the animal. Many light minded people began to say that it would lead to darker magics and whatnot, but the theory behind the potion is just like any other. I honestly can't find a reason that it was even classified as borderline dark." At this point she was frowning at the book as if it was trying to hid information she wanted on purpose.

"There is no telling how it was classified as such. It certainly was not hard to make. The materials were expensive, but not dark in nature." Draco was a bit frustrated that he could not provide Hermione with the answers she wanted about the potion. Even in his past life he had been confused at why things were classified as dark.

"I am going to find out." Hermione had a stubborn look on her face. "I want to know who does the classification of magic and why. Obviously they are idiots and should be removed from the position if this is what they think a 'dark' potion is." Both boys nodded and smirked. It had been only one day before Hermione had decided to research something.

Draco took the potion next. When he had transformed they were surprised to find that he was also a black jaguar. They were only a little bit less surprised when Hermione took her potion and also became a black jaguar that had a slightly more delicate frame than her brother's forms.

They talked for a while about what it could mean that they were all the same type of animal. Most wizards had forms that were completely unique and none of them could remember hearing anything about wizards that had similar forms that lived in the same time period. Unfortunately they were not able to come up with an answer as so few bothered learning the magic to begin with. There simply was not enough data to come to a conclusion.

"I think that it means that we are family and pack. Family even in our animal forms. We look like we could be from the same litter, so not even our animal forms can take our family away from us." Harry and Hermione looked at Draco and nodded at his answer.

"What a lovely explanation. I think you are right Draco." Hermione smiled. She cuddled up to him on the couch so that she could lay her head on his shoulder.

Harry grinned. "So what are our animagus names?"

Hermione thought for a moment. "I think that we should use our middle names for our animagus forms if we ever need to refer to them specifically for anything. I think that they all fit well with the predator that we become. Our cats are all dark and could be easily associated with Death. If we ever need to be incognito, we can think up something then, but I think that our Parseltongue will work if we are trying to talk about something that we don't want others to know about." Hermione sat up and smiled at Harry.

Draco and Harry quickly agreed and called Viddy to see about getting lunch. All three were excited about their forms and decided to start working on the transformation as soon as they could.

They decided to meditate and organize their memories for the rest of the day. Hermione explained to them that having their memories organized would assist with remembering more information like almost having photographic memories. In addition to helping their animagus transformation along faster, it would also help in the defense of their minds from anyone trying to search their memories. They would have to be prepared for Dumbledore to use Legilimency on them as he had no problems looking into the minds of his students whenever he felt like it.

All three chose to sort their memories into libraries with books holding their knowledge and memories that they created of their new life. Before lunch they had all decided on places to hide their memories from their past lives and their plans for Hogwarts and the wizarding world within their mindscapes.

Hermione hid her memories and secrets in the lining of the books on her shelves. You would have to know what book held the hidden memories and access them through a Parseltongue password. Draco created hidden compartments in the bookshelves and walls of his mental library with the same security measures that Hermione used while Harry had decided that he would hide his secrets under the floorboards of his library just like his secret place in his old bedroom. His were also protected by passwords that could only be spoken in Parseltongue.

Once they decided on their mindscapes and started organizing. Eventually, Viddy came and forced them to take a break so that they could eat. While finishing up lunch and chatting about their plans and worries, a small speckled barn owl came through the open window and landed in front of Draco.

"It's from Dumbledore." He showed the letter to his siblings after checking it for spells out of habit. The wards would have taken care of any tracking devices or any hidden portkeys, but he was raised to be a paranoid bastard and had no plans on letting his guard down if it would put his family in danger. "Here, I will read it to you."

 _Draco Tartarus, Hermione Hecate, and Harry Hades Peverell,_

 _You are welcome to join our seventh years for your last year of study. We will do the best that we can to ensure you do well on your NEWTS. I have enclosed your letters of acceptance and book lists for the upcoming year. I have also sent a notice of fees to Gringotts. Please make sure that you approve the fees for the year before June 25_ _th_ _._

 _I think that you will find our school much to your liking. We have many students and classes that will pique your interest. We are considered the foremost and best school in Britain._

 _I have long been fascinated with the Peverell family and their history and thought that there were no living members left. I was astonished and delighted to find that there were living members of the family here in Britain. Your family has such a rich history; it is wonderful that the history will not be lost._

 _I am looking forward to meeting you._

 _The train will depart from King's Cross Station on September 1_ _st_ _at 11:00 am. You will be sorted into your new houses directly after the first years._

 _Headmaster Albus Dumbledore_

 _Order of Merlin, First Class; Grand Sorcerer; Chf. Warlock;_

 _Supreme Mugwump; International Confed. of Wizards._

"What is the point of putting all those titles in that? He is so full of himself." Hermione complained as the three looked at their book list. "Ugh, greatest school in Britain...It's more like only school in Britain. And do you think he is interested in the family's history? Great Morgana, he is so… so…" With a soft snarl that had both her brothers' eyebrows rising, she changed the subject. "Well, we can pick up the few things we don't have when we go back to the alley, but we have most of this already." She was clearly still angry at the Headmaster even while talking about their school supplies. She wished that there was a way to complete their goals without having Harry go anywhere near Dumbledore.

They agreed that they would make a quick trip for the things that they did not already have at the end of summer and spend the rest of the time working on organizing their minds, making plans, and gaining access to their animagus forms.

The rest of the summer seemed to pass very quickly for the trio. Harry was the first to complete his animagus transformation, which he managed in the middle of July, and then Hermione completed her form a few days later with Draco completing his transformation only one day after Hermione. The three spent hours every day playing in their forms on the estate grounds. All three loved the sensation of running through the forest where they found all sorts of magical creatures. They were thrilled to find they had a herd of both Unicorns and Pegasi that lived within their wards. Draco had also noticed that they had a lot of expensive potions ingredients that grew wild in the forest, some of which were fairly hard to find in stores.

They decided that they would spend their free time after completing the transformation on making versions of Marauder's Map so that each of them would have a copy. Remus had shown Hermione the spells and how they had made the map when they were back in school, so it was very easy for the trio to recreate the map with the use of a pensive that had been in the study. They included a few passages that the Marauder's had not found, some of which required Parseltongue passwords to access, and they included the Chamber of Secrets and Room of Requirement.

Hermione had worked out how to add features that would allow them to search for specific people and to cause little speech bubbles to pop up when focusing one room. The features would be activated by tapping the map and saying the person's name that they were looking for and the spell _audire_ to activate the speech bubbles.

Like the original map, their maps required a password to open. The three decided to make the password Parseltongue so that only the three of them would ever be able to use them. They chose {through Death We Live} to activate the maps and {through Life We Die} to deactivate them. They were quite pleased with their work and spent a few minutes watching as Dumbledore walked through the empty halls of the castle to make sure that it was working correctly.

Working on the maps reminded Harry that he would need to do something about the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets so that no one could be hurt if the chamber was opened in the future. He did not know if they would be able to control it just because they were Speakers or if they would need to kill it.

"We can take a rooster with us and kill it if it does not listen and obey us. I say we give it one chance, and if it can't be controlled, we will render it for potions ingredients." Draco was hoping that the outcome would provide ingredients either way.

The trio finally decided to wing it and go with Draco's plan once they could access the chamber while at school. They also made tentative plans for dealing with the Horcruxes. Hermione made a list so that they would not forget any of the Horcruxes that already existed.

 _Horcruxes:_

 _Diary – In possession of Abraxas Malfoy at Malfoy Manor_

 _Locket – In inferi infested cave under poison that causes horrific nightmares_

 _Ring – In Gaunt shack – is cursed – don't touch_

 _Diadem – ROR_

 _Hufflepuff Cup – location unknown but possibly in possession of Lestranges_

They decided that they would use the chamber to destroy the Horcruxes when they managed to collect all of them. The chamber itself was warded so that any spell cast inside could not be detected by the headmaster or the ministry. Voldemort had bragged about how he used the chamber to practice the Dark Arts and unforgivables under Dumbledore's nose when he had Harry captive.

Harry told his siblings that Voldemort liked to monologue a lot which caused them to look at him like he had lost his mind.

"I have a plan for the Diary, and possibly the cup." Draco said hesitantly as the trio sat around the sitting room they had claimed.

"Let's hear it." Harry prepared himself for hearing this plan. He could tell from Draco's tone that it would be unpleasant.

"Well, its just a guess really, but Death said that we would feel them. Should feel like a tug or something. We can see if we can actually feel them when we get to the school since the Diadem is there. If we can feel them, it will make finding them easy if we get close to them." Draco shifted in his seat." I think it is extremely possible that the Lestrange family had the cup before it was placed in Bellatrix's Vault. She may not be a follower yet, but they should be."

Hermione nodded. "Okay, that is a fairly good assumption. How do you plan to get it from the Lestranges if they do have the cup?"

Draco winced as he explained his plan. "Purebloods have balls every year for pretty much every holiday. Yule being one of the bigger events. Since we are Peverells, we are most definitely going to be invited." Draco looked sick as he looked at his siblings.

"You think we should go to these balls and see if we can feel the Horcruxes." Harry looked a bit green at the thought of having to be friendly with people they knew to be Death Eaters.

"I do. It would put us in close contact with at least one, possibly two, Horcruxes. The thing is...the Malfoy ball will be held at Malfoy Manor." Hermione winced and pulled her knees up to her chest. "I know that none of us want to go there, but I don't really see a way that we could get the Diary without us going there. I know where it is kept and can get it, but we will only have till Yule to prepare at the most...it is possible that we would be invited to a ball for Samhain though, so we could only have until then for a first visit."

Harry nodded as he rubbed Hermione's back. Malfoy Manor was the place that featured the most in the trio's nightmares. "We can do it. It is a good plan Draco." Hermione nodded and smiled at Draco so that he would know she was with them completely. "It brings something else to mind that we should discuss before going to school." Harry waited until he knew that he had both of his siblings' full attention. "We need to decide how we are going to treat those that become Death Eaters in the future."

Hermione's eyes were wide as she asked, "What do you mean?"

"We already know that we were going to try to save Draco's mum, my parents, Snape, Sirius and Regulus, all our friends that died, but what about the others? We will be in classes with Draco's father and with Bellatrix, and Peter." Harry stumbled over the rat's name. "They haven't joined Voldemort yet, haven't become killers yet. They won't until after graduation if my information is right. They aren't monsters yet. How much of what they become just living up to expectations? What if we can save them too?"

Draco's jaw had dropped as he listened to his brother. "Harry, I don't…"

"I know it is hard to think about, but Draco, your Father murdered you because you would not join. He killed your mother because you would not follow his master. What if he had the same choice that you were given, but was not as strong as you?"

"I don't know if it is possible that there is any good in him, but I suppose it won't hurt to find out." Draco could not stop his tears from falling as he thought about his father. When he was very small he could remember his father laughing and playing with him but that had ended when he had turned eleven. He had wanted to make his father proud of him until he had started acting horrible once he started school. "I never really thought about it."

Harry nodded as he continued to explain. "I just remember everyone telling me how Slytherin was the house where the evil people go. I am sure that some of them were just bad people, but I think it is possible that they just ended up living up to some sort of self-fulfilled prophecy. Tell someone they are bad often enough and they will start to believe it themselves."

"We should definitely try then." Hermione whispered. "If we don't then we will be just as bad as they become. But we should watch. If they don't change…if they don't, then we ruin them."

Hermione's tone and the expression on her face made it perfectly clear that they would only be given one chance and that the trio would never stop watching. This was the same chance that they were giving to the Dursley family. The trio sat in silence while thinking about the task they had just taken on. For the first time since they had been back, they realized that they would have to face their nightmares to succeed in changing the future.

* * *

The summer brought the siblings closer together than they had thought possible. All three of them suffered from nightmares after talking about their plans on how to handle future Death Eaters. Hermione was the first one to have a nightmare and woke the Harry and Draco up by screaming in terror. Harry and Draco had rushed into her room to find her sitting in the middle of her bed as she cried. Hermione and Draco would often dream of the day that Bellatrix had tortured her. Her dreams were further troubled by the memory of her torture at the hands of Voldemort after they had been captured again. She could remember every curse that had been cast on her before she had been handed over to Grayback. She could clearly remember every sensation she had felt before she finally died.

Draco would dream of his father torturing him and his mother right from the moment they had been found to be traitors until she had been killed because they would not bow to Voldemort. His father had used a cane to beat his mother and then raped her in front of Draco hours before dragging them before his master for three more days of torture before they had been killed.

Harry ended up having the worst nightmares simply because his memories came from almost all seventeen years of his life. Harry dreamed of the people that he had watched die and be tortured and of the torture he had endured from the Dursleys and Voldemort. Draco and Hermione listened to Harry explain more about the horror of his childhood with the Dursleys, he talked about the memory of his parents being killed by Voldemort; he even talked about watching Draco and Hermione being killed.

Draco was amazed when Hermione joined in to help describe the things they had faced during their years at school. The student population had no idea what they had actually been through. Hermione was pissed when she found out about Ron's last betrayal. They talked about the manipulation of Dumbledore and the Weasleys that conspired with Dumbledore to keep Harry as malleable as possible.

The trio worked hard on their Occlumency so that these memories could not escape their mindscapes at night to haunt them. They all managed to talk about their dreams to each other when they would wake up which seemed to help them deal with their issues.

Each of them had lost people they loved in the war and had seen things that they would never be able to erase from their memory, but they were able to dull the pain by locking the memories away and by being there to comfort each other. Even with the nightmares, they were happy and felt lighter than they had ever felt before because they were together and they were able to finally begin to heal from their past.

It became common for Viddy to have to search the bedrooms to find which room they had ended up in after one of them had a nightmare. Most mornings she would find them together in one of the rooms, all in a tangle of blankets and limbs.

Working through their nightmares made the trio determined to change the future of as many people as they could, no matter what side they had fought on. They not only wanted to save those that they loved and missed, but they also wanted to prevent some from becoming the very monsters that haunted their nightmares.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Chapter edited 3/6/17

Thank you for all of your reviews.

To answer the question about the trio registering their animal forms: I have no plans on them registering their forms in this story for a few different reasons.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

{Parseltongue}

July 31st was a special day for the trio as it would be the first birthday that they would celebrate together. For Harry, it was the first real birthday he had ever celebrated with family. (He refused to count anything done by the Weasleys.)

After a large breakfast, provided by Viddy who had made all of their favorites, the trio spent the day together at an amusement park in the muggle world. Draco was amazed at the rides and games. They rode all the roller-coasters while screaming at the top of their lungs, and they walked around dripping wet after riding the water rides. Harry had to stop Draco from using a drying charm in front of muggles much to Hermione's amusement.

Hermione introduced Harry and Draco to cotton candy, and both boys ate enough cotton candy to make them sick. Draco also decided that he had a new favorite drink, Coca-Cola. Harry and Draco decided that they would ask Viddy to stock up on fizzy drinks when they got back to the manor so that they would be able to drink muggle drinks whenever they wanted.

Draco won Hermione a stuffed black cat and Harry won her a white teddy bear. Hermione talked the boys into getting their face painted with her; they all had black noses and cat features painted on their faces in honor of their animagus forms. Draco was horrified when Hermione insisted that they take pictures with their face paint on so that they would never forget the experience. They looked into the souvenir shops where they bought trinkets for their house elves and each other and then they rode even more rides until they just had no more energy.

When the trio made it back to the manor for dinner, Viddy was waiting in the dining room for the tired trio. She had laid out all their favorites again for dinner. On one end of the table she had placed a large, three tiered, birthday cake with cream icing. Each tier was one of the trio's favorite flavors; vanilla for Draco, chocolate for Hermione, and raspberry for Harry.

Dinner was a lively affair even though it was just the three of them; the trio insisted that the elves come and celebrate their birthday along with them. Which of course had the house elves in tears at how great and wonderful their masters were to have given them gifts and treat them as family. Each of the house elves had made their young masters small gifts for their birthday. Viddy had made special hard candies in their favorite fruit flavors. Yobe had given each sibling a small cutting of a black rose for their rooms and Pinky, the youngest elf, had made leather bracelets for the trio that had been charmed with elf magic to protect their masters from harmful spells. Draco made sure to tell them that they were honored to have them as house elves and a part of their family, and three beaming, teary eyed house elves was the result.

The trio had each gotten present for the others while shopping and had owl ordered more from catalogs when they were alone. All three siblings had bought one of the others the newest broom on the market. Even Hermione got one despite her reluctance to fly; the boys laughed when she made a face at the new broom. They all got new clothing, scarves, gloves and hats.

The boys had each gotten Hermione Jewelry and more books. Her favorite gift was a locket with the Peverell Rose on it that had their pictures inside. Draco informed her that he and Harry had decided that all her jewelry would have the same spells as her original emergency portkey. That way they would never have to worry about her changing her jewelry out and being without protection; Hermione was touched at the thoughtfulness of the gesture, though she thought it a bit of overkill.

Harry's favorite gift was a new family photo album that Hermione had started for him with Draco. Hermione and Draco had taken pictures of them about the estate and also had Viddy take pictures of the three of them when Harry couldn't see.

Draco was absolutely fascinated with his new slinky which was his favorite gift...he spent more time playing with the toy than flying his broom. Hermione and Harry had trouble getting his attention at all if he had either the slinky or Rubik cube out.

By the time the day was over all three thought that this had been the best birthday they had ever had. They were asleep before their heads hit their pillows.

* * *

The trio met for breakfast on the morning of August first to plan for their trip to Diagon Alley. They only had a few things to pick up, but Hermione wanted to spend the morning watching muggleborns come to the alley with their families for the first time. The first of August was the traditional day for teachers to introduce the muggle families to the magical world and help them make their purchases for school supplies.

Harry was upset to find out that he had been brought to the alley the day before most muggleborn students during his first life. They decided that it was just another way for Dumbledore to keep him under his thumb after talking about it for a while. Having him go with Hagrid the day before the other muggle raised children kept him from finding out that the muggleborn students were given information packets about the magical world and that teachers would explain different aspect of what they were seeing as the families were escorted around the alley.

Harry thought Hagrid was wonderful as a person, but he had not been the best person to introduce him to the wizarding world. He was blindly loyal to Dumbledore and had repeatedly told Harry how great of a man Dumbledore was while telling him how evil Slytherin house was. There was also the issue of Dumbledore having Hagrid pick up the stone while taking Harry to the bank.

It was so obvious in hind sight that Dumbledore orchestrated the whole Philosopher's stone situation to put Harry in the path of Voldemort. Dumbledore probably thought that Harry would finally defeat the wizard or be killed trying during his first year. If he had been killed then Dumbledore could finish off Voldemort and be the hero of the wizarding world again. If Harry had managed to survive after defeating Voldemort he could have obliviated Harry and still taken credit like that git Lockhart, but that was mostly wishful thinking on Harry's part. More than likely Dumbledore would have arranged for Harry to die since he knew about the Horcrux that Harry had carried in his scar. He could have easily blamed Harry's death on Voldemort so that his hands would still look clean. This scenario would also allow Dumbledore to take his place as hero of the Wizarding world.

Harry took a deep breath and looked around the breakfast table at his siblings. He was finally happy and had family and he was determined to think of something else that would not leave him depressed for the rest of the day.

After Viddy was satisfied that they had eaten enough, the trio made their way to the alley. The trio quickly made the few purchases that they needed before school started and were glad that they only had a few things to pick up when the alley started to fill with families.

Draco lead the trio to Gringotts to adjust some of their investments. Aside from knowing what businesses would do well in the future, the trio also wanted controlling interest in the Daily Profit and the Wizarding Wireless Network. The goblins were happy to arrange for the purchase of the shares they would need to be majority holders. Draco also advised the goblins that they would be at Hogwarts for the school year and that he would only be able to communicate through letters. The goblins were surprised that Draco wished for his communication to be spelled so that no one would be able to intercept or read his mail, but thought that he was making a very wise decision in asking for high security on his financial information. The goblins would spell the letters for no extra charge and monitor any unusual activity for their most valuable clients.

It was obvious to the trio, and to the other patrons of the bank, that the goblins considered the trio to be more than a regular client. The trio had just stepped into the bank when they were approached by a goblin that bowed and asked if he could escort the trio to their account manager. All the wizards standing in lines were amazed to see the goblins acting this way to three teenagers when they mostly treated the wizards that entered the bank with only tolerance. Once again, Abraxas Malfoy was in the bank and watching the trio with calculating eyes.

When the trio left the bank it was pretty crowded in the alley with all the muggleborns and their families walking around the shops with teachers as escorts. Most of the parents were looking around in awe at a world that they had never known existed while the teachers looked exhausted and a bit frazzled.

The trio settled down at a table for an outside café with tea and sandwiches to watch the activity. When Hermione sat down she explained that she wanted to see if any of the muggleborns had parents that were squibs like the little boy they had seen in Muggle London. She felt that she had seen too many squibs wondering around while practicing with the aura sight for it to not mean something. All three focused and looked at the auras of those wondering the alley.

As they looked around they were shocked. All but two of the muggleborns were accompanied by murky brown glowing parents. Three or four had one parent that would not glow with an aura, but the other parent would be the same murky brown as the others. Hermione had expected to see a few parents glow the murky brown color of squibs, but besides the two that were with two muggle parents and three or four with only one squib parent, all of them had two squib parents.

After watching the crowd to monitor their auras for over two hours, the trio made their way back home in a daze. All three were silent as they settled onto the couch and chairs in their sitting room. Viddy popped in with some of the muggle fizzy drinks before popping back out to return to whatever she had been doing before they arrived.

"They all had squib parents with them. Well, all but those few muggles with their children in the alley. They were all squibs." Hermione had a look of deep concentration on her face.

"I was certainly not expecting that." Draco was still a bit shocked at the sight of so many squibs in one location. He had never really bothered with the aura sight before because it did not really have much use that he could see. He would only use it to see who had the more power. He had his head resting back on the cushion behind him so that he could stare at the ceiling as he thought about what they had observed.

"I don't know." Harry said slowly gaining the others attention. "Think about it. Magic has to come from somewhere, right? And you said that it was fairly common for squibs to be cast out because they could not use magic, right Draco?" Draco nodded slowly at Harry while Hermione frowned in thought. "Well the squibs still have magic, it is just sort of, blocked. They do have cores that we can see."

Hermione's eyes got wide as she nodded. "It could be that when they are cast into the muggle world, they are attracted to other squibs because they can sense the magic on some level. Like often attracts like after all. Those students mostly had _two_ squib parents. I wonder if Magic is sentient enough to ensure that people with magical cores are attracted to others that have the ability to produce magical offspring. Squibs marrying outside of the scrutiny of their families would allow them to marry into new families for new magical blood. Even if they are occasionally marrying muggles, it seems that they are able to produce children capable of performing magic at some point down the line. There were too many children with two squib parents for it to be coincidence though."

"Merlin." Draco whispered with wide eyes. "There could be some families out there that come from some of the extinct lines. If any of this is true, then there is no such thing as Muggleborn; there would only be Pureblood and Halfblood. Halfblood could be a rare occurrence if they mostly have a squib parent."

"The purebloods would not have anyone to blame but themselves for the 'Muggleborn Issue' that they are continually trying to deal with if that is the case." Harry got up and stood looking out the window at the estate grounds. Some of the Pegasi had ventured into the back lawn where the young were playing and learning to fly in the open air.

"Is there a way to prove that a muggleborn is the descendant of an old family? Or even that they just have magical lineages?" Hermione asked.

"Yes," Draco said with a bit of excitement. "There is a potion that the old families used to make their family trees. It takes about nine hours to brew and some blood from the person that is creating the tree, but it will list all magical members in the family, including squibs. It will even tell whether or not someone has been disowned. There is also the inheritance test at Gringotts, but they will only do that if you request for the test and have the galleons to do it. None of the muggleborns would be told about so none of them would bother to ask for the test."

"That's that then." Harry said looking at his sibling from his place at the window.

"What's that, Harry?" Draco asked as Hermione started to giggle when she caught onto Harry's plan.

"We will start getting our classmates to think about blood purity and how asinine the whole thing is. Then we will talk about our theory of muggleborns coming from squibs so that others think about the possibility. All we will then need to do is find someone willing to test the potion. The more muggleborns, or even halfbloods, the better if it turns out we are right."

Draco's mouth hung open as he processed the plan. "That could change everything. One of the main problems that purebloods have against the muggleborns is that they come in from the muggle world and the wizarding traditions are forgotten to make them feel more comfortable here. Most of the holidays are celebrated in the muggle traditions now. If squibs are not cast out into the muggle world and stay in the wizarding world, it would lead to their children to be born here. The numbers of outsiders would slowly diminish over the generations until our population restored and there were no more children being born thinking that they were muggles. It would take generations but it could change everything. This is actually a long term solution to an issue that has been brought before the Wizengamot for the last few hundred years with no positive outcomes. Muggleborn witches and wizards was Grindelwald's chosen issue of choice too. Actually I think the last four Dark Lords were trying to eradicate the muggleborns."

Harry and Hermione just stared at Draco. They had never thought about the issues behind the Pureblood mania. Both could understand why people would get upset at outsiders trying to change their traditions though.

Hermione was confused as to why she had never been told about any wizarding traditions when she was introduced to the wizarding world. _You would think that they would teach us the traditions if they were upset that we were not following them. I wonder why muggleborns are not taught about this._ Hermione was sure that she would be upset at the lack of education for wizarding traditions once she could wrap her mind around what they may have discovered about muggleborn families.

"Would we have the ingredients to brew the potion?" Harry asked from his place by the window.

"We have most of them. I can owl order the rest or more of what we have if we need to. I can probably make three or four batches with what we have now." Draco was still lost in thought on the changes that would come from finding out that muggleborns were not born from muggles at all. He wanted to laugh and rub his father's nose in the lies he believed all of his life. Draco sighed as he remembered that his father no longer existed as he had known him, but this new information would certainly help change him into a man that a son could be proud of. He sat up suddenly startling Hermione beside him. "Fuck. The Wizengamot would change back to the traditional Wizengamot."

Harry and Hermione exchanged confused glances before looking at Draco for an explanation.

"About five hundred years ago, the Wizengamot had to be reformed. At the time of the founders, there were thirteen Ancient and Noble Houses; this is before the Sacred Twenty-eight was formed. They were houses of Peverell, Black, Longbottom, Nott, Prince, Bones, Dedworth, Bailiwick, Trimble, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor. These families were the main seat holders for the traditional Wizengamot with each seat holding two votes. There was an additional twenty four seats that held one vote each. These twenty four seats were for elected officials. When most of the thirteen houses fell, the Wizengamot was adjusted by the minister. He made it so that his department heads would have votes, which normally are in line with the minister since he appoints all department heads. He also abolished the elected seats and gave them to noble houses and minor houses which is what led to the what is now known as the Sacred Twenty-eight. Malfoy was a noble house that had control over six votes because my father bribed the seat holders or because he had a distant claim by family." Draco paused to make sure that his siblings were following. Hermione was staring at him with her mouth open as he explained the Traditional Wizengamot and how it was changed into the mess they had to deal with in their previous life.

"The advantage of having the thirteen houses with a majority of twenty six votes was that when the houses stood together, they could actually abolish laws that were not for the good of the wizarding public. The Ancient and Noble Houses and the elected officials had to take magical oaths that they would work for the betterment of wizarding society. The oaths of the thirteen houses were a bit more rigid. They would literally lose their life and magic if they were corrupt whereas the elected officials would lose just their magic. That all stopped with the new ministry Wizengamot. The law states that when nine or more Ancient and Noble Houses exist, the Ministry must convert to Traditional Wizengamot. There would be no more Ministry controlling everything, and there would be no Chief Warlock. It would be up to the thirteen Ancient and Noble houses how many elected seats there would be as there are supposed to be a few less than the Ancient and Noble houses so that the Ancient and Noble houses could overrule any crappy laws when they stood together. If there are nine surviving houses, there would be just sixteen elected officials."

"Merlin, that is just…shit. I don't even know what to say to that." Harry had made his way to an arm chair to sink into when his legs decided that they would no longer support him. "And the law would force them to revert back if we could find the heirs to these families?" Draco just nodded.

Hermione was smiling. If this squib issue works out the way she thought it would, it would just make it that much easier for them to make changes to the wizarding world. "How many families do we have now?"

"We have Black, Longbottom, Nott, Bones...Prince if Snape takes up the family reigns, and we make six. The Slytherin line might not be an issue because Riddle will never take an oath to work for the betterment of our society, whether he is the heir or not. That house actually may be absorbed into ours when he is defeated, by right of conquest, in which case Harry would become Lord Slytherin and be responsible for continuing that line as Harry Peverell, Lord of Slytherin. There would then be two Peverell families with two separate lordships. This could reactivate one of the Thirteen, but only after he is defeated."

"Well that is not that bad. We only need three families. If the muggleborns turn out to be descendants, this will be awesome."

"Why would I have to become Lord Slytherin?" Harry looked upset at the thought of becoming Lord Slytherin.

"It would be in title only. This could only happen to one of the Thirteen. Minor and Noble houses are not deemed important enough to continue through conquest. History states that the Thirteen thought that everything they did should make wizarding society safer for people that had magic. If one of the families turned their back on this philosophy, the right of conquest was a failsafe for another family to take their place as a member of the Thirteen. In addition to this fail-safe, the Heads of the families are only allowed to be Head of one family, even if they could be heirs to another. If they end up being the only living heir for another family, they are then responsible for producing male heirs to both lines with the second line lying dormant until claimed by its heir. Again, these rules only apply to the Thirteen due to their status and the vows they would take. These houses were never meant to disappear and the fail-safes were put in place because they would intermarry. It was less about the blood and more about the title and responsibility. It's all very convoluted and confusing, but it was meant to keep those families from amassing too much power and to keep the thirteen Lordships from disappearing." Harry and Hermione looked dazed as Draco explained the old family system. It was certainly hard to follow when they had nothing to compare it to.

The trio sat in silence in the sitting room thinking about the changes that could be made to the wizarding world if their theories were correct. It was still possible that they were wrong and the whole thing was just a coincidence, but if they were right, wizards everywhere would have to adjust their ways of thinking on more than just the muggleborn issue.

"Draco, I have a question." Hermione started to play with a strand of her hair as she gazed at her brother. "Our family seat now…who is voting with it?"

Draco thought for a moment before scrunching his face into an expression of irritation. "Ballocks, it is probably the Potter family. They would have a small claim as being an indirect descendant, but lawfully, it should have never been given the seat as it is one of the Thirteen. It should only be voted by someone holding the actual title or placed into a dormant status. I vaguely remember Father being upset about Dumbledore making sure that he would have votes by having the light families claim old seats. My father was able to claim four other minor houses once they died out during the first war with obscure family ties and bribery."

"You need to get to the ministry and claim your seat before we get to school. I don't want Dumbledore to have access to any seats that belong to us. I don't care that it would be in the hands of a Potter. They died because they put all their faith in that man and stopped thinking for themselves." Harry stared at his brother with one eyebrow raised until Draco nodded.

"We will go tomorrow. The Wizengamot does not have to be in session for me to claim the seat and stop others from voting in my place. I just have to speak to the minister and state my claim. I could also ask for any votes submitted by proxy to be sent to me for review." Draco shrugged at his siblings. "It probably won't change anything but it would show us where Dumbledore has been voting and allow us to change the votes so that they are in line with our views."

The trio agreed that they would make a trip to the Ministry the next day. Dinner was a silent affair as all three were lost in their thoughts. Today had brought surprising realizations and adjustments to their plans.

* * *

Millicent Bagnold was more than a little bit surprised when her Undersecretary told her that the Lords and Lady Peverell were there to see her. She was even more surprised when three teens walked into her office. She had not given any attention to the rumors that had spread through the ministry halls like wildfire over the last few day and therefore had no idea that the Peverell family had returned. Standing behind her desk she greeted the trio in front of her.

"I am Millicent Bagnold, Minister for Magic. You asked to speak with me?" She gestured to the arm chairs in front of her desk before sitting down and trying to figure out what the teens in front of her could possible want.

"Thank you for your time Minister." Draco answered. "We know your time is valuable so I will get right to it. I am here to claim my seat on the Wizengamot."

"Your seat on the…but you are so young." The Minister was confused. She was very aware that Dumbledore had paved the way for Potter to hold that seat.

"I assure you that I am past my majority and as the Lord of the Ancient and Noble House of Peverell, I have come to claim my seat. I also understand that someone has overstepped and been voting my seat, so I will also have to request that you provide me with all votes _illegally_ placed in the name of Peverell for review. I must say, I was very disappointed that the ministry allowed someone to vote for my house when we have left it to lay fallow." Draco was now staring at the Minister with one brow raised. She could not help the shiver that ran down her spine while under the gaze of the teen.

"I think that the Potters were able to prove a family connection to procure the vote." Her voice actually broke while trying to explain to the young Lord seated in front of her.

Hermione spoke from beside her brother. "To procure the vote in this manor is not lawful. As one of the Thirteen, the seat cannot be held by someone that does not hold the position of Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Peverell. A position that the House of Potter does not hold. It is so disappointing to see the laws that govern us to be ignored for _personal_ gain." The Minister started at the suggestion that the trio was aware of what Dumbledore had done. This could be very bad for her if this information became public or they decided that the fault lay with her.

Harry smirked from his chair as he crossed one leg over the other. "It would be a shame if our Minister for Magic ignored the laws; especially on election year." The threat was by no means veiled.

The Minister could not help but dab at her brow as she broke out in a cold sweat. She had expected to be in control of a meeting as soon as she had see just how young they were upon entering her office, but she could literally feel the power that was emanating from the three in front of her. They were a part of one of the oldest families in Britain and would have the money and power to back up any threats they made even if they were wrong about the law having been broken for their seat to be claimed by another. It did not take her long before she decided that she did not want to be enemies of these three. "I will be looking in to the mistake immediately. Your claim will be verified by the goblins at Gringotts and you will be expected at the first Wizengamot meeting in November. I will send you your seat ring, which will heat up when there is a session that is not scheduled as soon as I receive the verification from the goblins."

"I will be looking for your owl. I will be attending Hogwarts with my siblings, so would appreciate that you send any correspondence through the goblins for the added security." Draco smirked at the witch seated in front of him. She was practically shaking while trying to make sure that they were not displeased with her. People in politics were so easy to control since they were petrified of losing power. "Please do make sure that I get that vote information as soon as you can. I will of course, send you the changes on any votes that were made illegally that we do not agree with, though I am sure that it will take time depending on how many votes we must review."

The Minister just nodded and stood when the trio rose as one.

"It was such a pleasure to meet you Minister. I am sure that we will work together well in the future." Draco practically purred at the stunned witch in front of him.

Once the trio left the office, Millicent Bagnold poured herself a large glass of Firewhisky. "Great Merlin, what was that?" She was not sure what she had expected when she first saw the sweet looking teens enter her office, but it was not the powerful trio that made her scared of crossing them. _Dumbledore will have to get over not having that vote. I should have never allowed Lord Potter to claim that seat._ She quickly started the process of placing Lord Peverell in control of his house seat and removing Charlus Potter.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Chapter edited 3/6/17

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

{Parseltongue}

On September first, the trio had a filling breakfast made by Viddy before heading off to Kings Cross Station. Viddy had made sure that all their things were packed and that they had a light lunch that they could eat on the train since only candy and snacks were sold on the the train despite the fact that it was a trip that took all day. The trio spent time with Viddy before leaving for the station, assuring the sad elf that they would call if they needed her even if they were in Hogwarts.

The elf had finally relinquished their trunks into their keeping before popping away with a teary goodbye to her charges. The trio took deep breaths and smiled at each other reassuringly before apparating to a dark corner near Kings Cross Station.

Walking through the barrier of Platform 9 ¾ brought a smile to each of the trio's faces. They had never thought to see the station so lively again. The three teens stood to one side of the platform at watched the students embracing their families and running around saying their goodbyes to one another. The noise and chaos was heightened by the owls and cats that were running and flying around. Everyone looked normal and content with no sign of the worries caused by war.

All three had their trunks stashed safely in their pockets. Ares had been sent on to Hogwarts so he would not be stuck in his cage, which Draco had shrunk and placed in his trunk. Eris was protected in her basket that Hermione carried on one arm and Harry had Charon around his middle in a special pouch Viddy had created on his shirt that allowed Charon to move around Harry's waist freely. Viddy had added them to all his robes and shirts so that Charon could always be with him if he wanted to. Hermione had added an undetectable extension charm so that you could not tell if the snake was there or not and cushioning charms made sure that Charon was safe if Harry bumped into anything.

"I am so excited. I never thought that we would have a chance to go back, or complete our NEWTS, for that matter." Hermione exclaimed bouncing slightly.

Harry was about to agree that it was exciting to have the chance to return to Hogwarts when a large hand landed on his shoulder and turned him around.

"James, I will only tell you this once, if I get…" The man stopped mid-sentence as a boy that was clearly not James and two others turned to look at him. The boy was almost identical to his own son, except for the eyes and the lack of glasses. The man just blinked at the young man in front of him in bewilderment.

"I'm sorry sir; I believe you have the wrong person." Harry said kindly pulling away from the man to stand with his brother and sister.

"I am so sorry; you look a lot like my son. Are you by chance a Potter?" The man asked with bemusement and a slight stutter to his voice. He could not think of any living relations as he and James were the last of the Potter line.

"No sir. I am not a Potter." Harry smiled at the older man that was clearly his grandfather. It should have been harder to finally see a man that Harry had not even seen pictures of, but with Draco and Hermione standing beside him, Harry did not feel that he was missing the close family ties that he had longed for in his past life.

"Ah, well then, I am Charlus Potter. I have a son named James that will be going to Hogwarts for his seventh year." Charlus stepped back and looked expectantly at the three teens standing before him. He was still not sure how this young man could not have Potter blood with his looks. If he had not been faithful to his wife all these years, he would suspect that the boy was his own son.

Draco took initiative and shook the hand that was offered and introduced himself and his siblings. "It is very nice to meet you Mr. Potter. I am Draco Peverell, and these are my siblings Harry and Hermione. We will be going to Hogwarts for our seventh year to complete our NEWTs."

"Peverell?" Charlus Potter was now very interested in the three teens before him. He had received notice from the Minister of Magic that he would no longer be voting for the Peverell seat which he had found confusing because the line was thought extinct. Before he could question them further about their family history, the warning bell for the train sounded and they excused themselves in unison to the train with a politeness that left Charlus blinking in bemusement.

The trio quickly made their way through the throng of students that were trying to find their own compartments or find friends to sit with. The trio noticed that a lot of the students looked very closely at their completely black robes as they passed, unused to seeing older students with no house affiliation displayed on their robes.

Harry had known that he still looked a lot like his dad, but had not really thought about the reactions that they were going to get from people. Shock would be especially present with Harry and Draco's looks, even with their blood adoption, Draco still looked very much like a Malfoy and Harry still looked like a Potter. When people found out that they were triplets, people were going to have fits trying to figure them out. This caused Harry to snicker into his hand as they settled into a compartment they finally found at the back of the train.

"Are you ok Harry?" Draco sat next to the smaller teen while Hermione settled into the seat across from them. She released Eris from her basket and began to pet the black cat that curled up on her lap.

"I'm fine. You realize that we are going to attract a lot of attention with our looks, right? I look like a lost Potter, you look like a lost Malfoy, and Hermione could be seen as a median between our two extremes." Harry continued to snicker as he explained his snickering to his siblings.

The other two gave a small laugh at the thought of people trying to figure them out. They too had not thought about the fact that they retained a lot of their past appearances despite the adoption ritual.

"I'm glad that you are okay Harry." Hermione gave Harry a brief hug after their laughter died down while never losing her hold on Eris.

"It is going to be hard to see them, but we get to try to save them. That makes it worth it." Draco nodded at Harry's words understanding exactly how he felt. He hoped that he could save his mother if no one else. "Plus, I didn't feel as though there was something big missing from my life when I saw Mr. Potter. I always felt like that when people talked about my parents and their parents before. I have family now though." Harry smiled contentedly at his siblings.

As the scenery outside the window changed the three of them settled in for the trip. Harry switched seats with Hermione so that he and Draco could play game of chess while Hermione read.

Hermione ended up falling asleep on Draco's shoulder halfway through the journey after eating the lunch that Viddy had provided. She had been too excited to get much sleep the night before and had kept waking the boys up to check if they had packed something or other. (The boys did not complain, although they thought she was being a bit nutty since Viddy had already packed everything and had forgotten nothing.) After the fourth time of waking them up to check on some random item, Harry had pulled her into Draco's room where they tucked her into bed between them so that she could not get back up. Being together seemed to calm her down enough that she could finally sleep and allow the boys to sleep too. It had been a blissfully nightmare free night for the trio once they got Hermione to sleep.

People passed the compartment and looked at the unknown trio with but did not disturb them. It was odd for both Harry and Draco to spend so much time in the compartment without having people interrupting them for one reason or another..

Harry purchased some Sugar Quills for Hermione from the snack cart when it went past and bought Draco some Cauldron Cakes since he could not move with a sleeping Hermione snuggled up to him. He munched happily on some Chocolate Frogs as they waited to reach Hogsmeade while tucking his new cards into his pocket. Charon would stick his head out of his pouch on Harry's robes every once and a while to make comments to Harry and Draco as they talked softly in Parseltongue; its soft sibilant sounds less likely to disturb Hermione's sleep than if they had spoken English.

When they arrived, the boys gently shook Hermione awake, and shook their heads at how fast she was wide awake and bouncing in excitement again.

Many of the students that had gotten a good look at them were whispering as they passed on their way to the carriages. Now that they were at Hogwarts everyone wanted to know who the new students were. A plump teacher met them at the station with a bright and friendly smile and took them in their own Thestral drawn carriage to the school. She explained the houses and the point system and tried to give them an overview of what to expect.

They all smiled at her as she suddenly exclaimed "Oh my goodness. I did not even introduce myself. I am Professor Pomona Sprout; I teach Herbology and am the Head of House for Hufflepuff. Even if you are not in my house, please feel free to come to me if you need anything, I can almost always be found in the greenhouses." She made the three teens feel much better about their decision to have the hat place them in her house.

The rest of the carriage ride was filled with the trio listening to Professor Sprout telling them about the history of the houses and Hogwarts in general. She also told them a bit about her co-workers and who taught what subject. It was a very relaxed and informative ride.

They followed the plump teacher past the room where the first years would wait when they arrived from the boats and into an anti-chamber that the three recognized would lead out beside the teachers table at the front of the Great Hall. The room on the other side of the door gradually became louder and louder as it filled with students. They listened at the door as the sorting performed its song and then as the first years were brought in and sorted. Then Dumbledore began to speak to the students who had become silent again as he began to address them.

"This year is a little bit different from past years. In addition to our first years we will also welcome three new seventh years to our school for the first time in many years. I expect each of you to show them a great Hogwarts experience no matter what house they join. We will sort them now and then the feast will begin." The whispering could be heard even through the door as students talked about the students they had glimpsed on the train.

The trio walked out into the hall when the door opened and everyone went silent again. Dumbledore's eyes widened a bit as he looked at the boys who calmly stared back at him from either side of their sister. He was already aware of their names and was flabbergasted at the three before him. The whispers then started again with renewed fervor. "That boy looks like Malfoy." "…Potter's twin." "Who are they?" The whispers that carried from all corners of the hall seemed not to bother the three waiting to be sorted at all.

Deciding that the Hall would need a few moments to deal with their shock, they took their time to look around at the students and the teachers that sat at the head table. Looking out at the crowd and seeing their parents and loved ones made it difficult for the boys to keep a calm mask in place. Hermione offered her silent support by giving their hands a slight squeeze in the folds of their robes where no one could see, which they returned with small grateful smiles that were mostly unnoticed by those watching them.

"Well then, let's see what houses you will join." The headmaster smiled at the three teens with his blue eyes twinkling like mad. All three gave identical smirks, which Harry and Hermione had picked up from Draco, and nodded in unison at the Headmaster. Dumbledore blinked and his smile faltered a bit as this looked a bit unsettling. Dumbledore seemed to gather himself as he turned back to the students already seated at their house tables "First, we have Mr. Draco Tartarus Peverell." He called out. Draco sauntered up to the stool with his smirk still in place and sat.

The Hat was placed on his head and the seam opened immediately as if to call out a house...and then it suddenly stopped.

The seam closed.

The staff and students looked around at each other with confusion on their faces. When the hat made a loud sigh, eyebrows around the room rose. Harry and Hermione just continued to watch calmly with small smirks still in place as they watched their brother aggravate the sorting hat.

"Hufflepuff." The hat finally called out with a flat, resigned tone that no one had ever heard from the hat before.

It had taken Draco five minutes to convince the hat to sort him where he wanted. Hufflepuff, after sitting silently a few moments while they processed the odd behavior of the hat, started to cheer as Draco calmly made his way over to his new house to take a seat with his smirk never faltering. He made sure to leave enough space for the others on the bench beside him.

"Yes, well." Dumbledore's eyes had followed Draco as he made his way to his house table. "Next we will sort Hermione Hecate Peverell." At the revelation to the hall that the first two were siblings, eyebrows again shot up. They were expecting these three students to unrelated since they were all seventh years and looked so different.

Once again the hat started to sigh after being placed on her head.

"Hufflepuff." Hermione smirked at Dumbledore's now only slightly twinkly eyes as she handed the hat back to him and made her way to sit at Draco's side. Both siblings were now seated at the Hufflepuff table looking expectantly at Harry.

Dumbledore gazed at the two that had been sorted already for a moment before looking at the boy still waiting to be sorted. All three were still smirking and though they did not look alike at first glance the triplets definitely had the same smirk, and it was starting to unnerve the Headmaster. "And last we will sort Mr. Harry Hades Peverell." He announced while still looking at the boy standing before him.

Harry's smirk just deepened as the hall reacted to his last name. Harry was calm as he made his way to the stool sat under the hat.

After a few moments of silence the hat started to mumble under its breath. Dumbledore leaned in trying to hear what the hat was saying but was clearly frustrated when he could not make out the words. With the hat's last resigned call of "Hufflepuff," the twinkle left his eyes completely.

Historically the Peverell family would have been Gryffindors or Ravenclaws. He was not a man that liked surprises or to not know what was going on within his domain and there was something that was strange about this sorting. As the siblings sat together and greeted their new housemates, they looked perfectly content. _Such an old family should have been in any house but Hufflepuff. Maybe it is a lack of power that sorted them there._ Dumbledore lost himself in his thoughts about the new students as he made his way to his throne like chair behind the head table. _Surely they are just a bit odd and nothing to truly worry about._

As the feast began the three continued to attract a lot of attention. They could hear James Potter telling his friends at his table, "Well he can't be a Potter. We all go into Gryffindor." His friends all nodded at this logic while a pretty red head just rolled her eyes at her new boyfriend. She had just decided to give him a chance since he would not give up and was cute, but he really needed to work on his arrogance.

At the Slytherin table a boy with long blond hair was making a very similar observation. "Malfoys are always in Slytherin so he cannot be related to me." He had his nose in the air as he looked at the new arrivals. "No Malfoy would ever be a Puff. We would leave." This caused the table to quietly snigger.

The Hufflepuff table was alight with happy conversation. They had not expected to have all three new students sorted into their house. A boy with neat black hair introduced himself as Angus Buchanan asked the question that everyone wanted to know.

"So…you three are adopted siblings right?" He continued to compare their features as he asked his question. A few students at other tables stopped to listen to the answer including the Marauders.

"Actually, we are triplets." The three slowly started to smirk in their slightly creepy way as Draco answered the question. The Marauders could not hide their shock as they stole glances at the trio.

A girl across from Hermione introduced herself as Anya Tuft. "That is pretty cool, I never met triplets before. I guess you will be moving into my room then. I am so glad that you are joining us. Tonya Gudgeon," she continued with a gesture to her left at a shy girl with curly red hair, "is our other roommate. We were the only two girls in our year, so this will be so much fun." Hermione smiled at the talkative girl across the table. With a deep breath Anya continued to introduce them to their year mates. "Your brothers will be rooming with Angus, Simon Peakes," a chubby boy waved shyly from down the table. He reminded them of a young Neville. "and Westley Hudson." The boy sitting next to Angus smiled and nodded at his introduction.

"It's so nice to meet all of you." Hermione said as the three nodded at their year mates in unison. They had to make an effort not to laugh at the looks they received when they did something at the same time. With the adoption ceremony it had become natural to them and was a great source of entertainment. They had even managed to complete each other's sentences without thinking about it when shopping much to their surprise. With their looks, it was apparently even more disconcerting for others to see than it had been with the Weasley twins.

As the feast went on, the triplets enjoyed the food provided by the Hogwarts's elves while continuing to answer random questions for their classmates. They had never thought that they would have a chance to eat in the Great Hall again and were happy to see it so full and bursting with life.

"Why did you decide to come here for just this last year?" Westley was the one that voiced this question.

"Our father requested that we come here if he was not able to complete our education himself." Harry replied

"After we saw to his burial, we made our way to our family estate to fulfill his last wishes for us." Hermione continued.

"And of course, we immediately sent a letter to your Headmaster explaining the situation." Draco took up where Hermione stopped to take a bite. "And here we are." They all said in unison with sweet smiles that made the table blink at them. Their classmates were unsure if that was really sweet or creepy. Twins that completed each other's thoughts normally looked alike, whereas these three looked almost nothing alike except for their mannerisms and a few features if you looked closely.

Being Hufflepuffs, the classmates quickly smiled and continued to chat with the three new students about classes and their interests. The Hall was not as loud as it normally was during a welcoming feast as everyone was curious about the new comers and everyone was shamelessly listening in.

The Slytherins were surprised at how poised and collected the trio was in such a new environment. It was obvious that they were raised to honor their pureblood heritage and some felt that with their _obviously_ old blood they should have been in their honored house.

The Gryffindors were mostly confused about the Peverells sorting. When they heard the name, they thought surely at least one would be in the house of the brave.

The Ravenclaws were impressed when they overheard the list of classes that the three would be taking and wondered why they had not made it into Ravenclaw. With that dedication to classwork, how had one not been in their house?

Many pureblood students were already thinking about letters that would need to be sent home letting their parents know that there were three Peverells at the school and any information that they had learned so far.

James Potter was still quietly talking to his friends while stealing glances at the siblings, but mostly staring at his doppelganger. "I thought that the Potters were the only descendants left of the Peverell family. I know that we have at least one family heirloom from them." He said with a pointed glance at Remus and Sirius. Peter just looked confused with the conversation.

"I don't know mate. We could always ask them and since you are descended from a Peverell line it will not be inappropriate." Sirius nodded at Remus's solution. James nodded after another glance at the siblings. Remus, Sirius and James continued to steal glances at the newcomers throughout the feast while making up theories about the trio. James pulled out their map under the table and activated it with Sirius looking on. After checking the names he whispered to Remus that they were not lying about their names, which Remus responded to by asking why they would do such a thing in the first place. James just shrugged and put the map away.

Dumbledore stood as the deserts disappeared from the tables to address the students once more; his eye twinkle back in full force. He gazed around the Great Hall, stopping for only a moment at the new students before moving on.

"I want to welcome all returning and new students back to our wonderful school. There are a few start of term notices I would like to announce. The forbidden Forrest is, as always, out of bounds." This was said with a look over his glasses at the Marauders. "Mr. Filch has again asked me to remind you that magic is not permitted in the halls. He has also updated his list of banned items and this can be found on the door to his office. You will receive your schedules on Monday morning at breakfast before classes start. All Quidditch teams will hold try outs next Friday, please see your captains if you are interested in a position. As tomorrow is Sunday, you will have plenty of time to settle into your dorms before classes start. New students, please follow your prefects to your dorms. Have a good night." Dumbledore sat back down in his throne like chair and stroked his long white beard as the hall slowly emptied of children.

He would have to keep an eye on these new seventh years. They had not been what he expected and that made him uncomfortable. _I wonder if they know about the Hallows._ He thought to himself. He had been frustrated with the elder wand since the beginning of summer. He could no longer cast with the power that he had been able to use before. _It is said that the three brothers were Peverells and they were the original holders of the Hallows. It is possible that they may have information on the Hallows if that is true I must keep an eye on them and see if they will be useful in the scheme of things. I am sure that Peverells will be delighted to serve The Greater Good._ He nodded to himself, content with the knowledge that he would be able to figure them out. No longer worried about the young Hufflepuffs, he made his way out of the empty hall towards his personal quarters.

The trio followed Westley, who was the seventh year prefect, down to the corridor that held the entrance to the kitchens. They stopped in front of a stack of barrels with the first years huddling behind the trio. "Alright you lot, listen up. This is the entrance to our common room. You will not have to remember a password to enter like some of the other houses. To access the common room, you must tap the barrel two from the bottom, middle of the second row, in the rhythm of 'Helga Hufflepuff,'" He then demonstrated and the lid of the barrel swung open, exposing a passageway that would need to be crawled through. This made Draco sigh and give his siblings a look that showed it was plainly their fault he would be reduced to crawling through the opening. "Make sure you tap the right lid," Westley continued, "If you make a mistake, you will be doused in vinegar and barred access until someone else comes along." Harry and Hermione sniggered at the look Draco sent them promising pain if he got doused.

They were pleasantly surprised at the relaxing and homey atmosphere of the common room. It was round with low ceilings. Windows provided views of rippling grass and dandelions and would provide plenty of light during the daytime. There were plants of all sorts hanging around the room in little hanging baskets and pots. The couches were black with yellow accents and pillows and they looked to be overstuffed and comfortable. Around the room were sitting areas for studying and hanging out with housemates. Copper accents could also be found around the room bringing balance to the black and yellow. The three were shown to their new rooms by their roommates and were again pleasantly surprised at the warm decoration found in the round bedrooms. There were even copper bed warmers on the walls just in case they got cold feet during the night. Each student had a four poster bed that was similar to the other houses. The only difference was that the sheets and bed hangings were in black and yellow.

Their new roommates of the trio all blinked in surprise when trunks were pulled out of pockets and expanded to their original size with a silent wave of their wands. None of the three realized that they had been the only ones that had carried their trunks with them or that they had silently enlarged them. After changing into their night clothes and calling quiet goodnights to their roommates, the siblings all climbed into their beds, pulled their bed curtains closed, and fell into peaceful sleep. Not long after, their roommates followed.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Chapter edited 3/6/17

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

{Parseltongue}

The next morning the trio met in the common room early to head for breakfast.

As the three walked along the corridor Hermione asked a very important question. "Are you two going to try out for Quidditch next Friday?"

The boys looked at the girl between them and then at each other over the top of her head.

"It's not something we thought about really, but I think we should. We both love to play." Draco drawled.

Harry nodded in agreement. "You want to try out for chaser don't you? I remember you telling Pansy that you would have rather been chaser than seeker." Draco grinned and nodded as his eyes glazed over at the thought of playing his favorite position. His father had pushed him into the position of seeker so that he could compete against Harry, and he did like to play that position but it was not nearly as exciting as playing chaser. Playing seeker meant that you had to spend a lot of time just looking for the snitch while those in the chaser position were constantly on the move. While it was fun chasing the smaller boy around the pitch, he still loved to play the position of chaser more; Harry also was a much more daring seeker and was more likely to pull crazy stunts just for the hell of it.

"I think we will Hermione, I think we will." Draco slung his arm over her shoulders as they entered the Great Hall.

It was almost completely empty at that time of morning. Professor McGonagall and Sprout were at the teachers table talking quietly together as they sipped tea and ate their breakfasts. There were a few Ravenclaws already at their table with books open around their plates. A lone Slytherin with greasy looking black hair and a hooked nose was sitting at the Slytherin table writing in what seemed to be a text book, and the Gryffindor table had a few scattered students that the trio did not recognize. They were the first Hufflepuffs to arrive at their table. As they made their way to their seats they garnered the attention of everyone in the hall. Everyone was thinking the same thing. _How did they manage to get here on their own without getting lost?_

As they loaded their plates with breakfast they continued to talk about Quidditch tryouts and different plays they would like to try. Hermione settled in between her brothers and just nodded every once and a while as she pulled a book out of her bag and began to read. Every once and a while, one of the boys would poke at her to get her to start eating again without even stopping their conversation. This caused quite a few amused smiles from the other inhabitants of the Great Hall; it was obvious that the triplets were very close. As the hall filled, they caught more and more attention without even noticing. The marauders paused at the doors to the Great Hall when they entered to gaze at the newcomers before making their way to their own table where they continued to steal peaks at the trio while whispering.

"How early did you guys get here?" Anya plonked herself down on the bench across from Hermione, who didn't even look up from her book or give any indication that she realized that they were no longer alone at the table.

"We are early risers." Harry smiled.

"And you didn't get lost?" Tonya asked amazed as she took a seat next to Anya. Draco and Harry's roommates took places around the table and began to load their own plates with different selections available on the table.

Draco placed a hand on the page of Hermione's book to catch her attention. She blinked their year mates in surprise. "We have a good since of direction" he answered as Hermione said good morning to the others with a blush. She used a pretty metal bookmark with black roses etched on it to mark her place and put the book back into her bag so she could focus on finishing eating her breakfast and talking to everyone.

Harry put his fork down and looked at his roommates. "Who would we need to see if we would like to try out for the Quidditch team this Friday?"

"That would be me." Angus said with a touch of excitement in his voice. "Do all of you play?"

Hermione scrunched up her nose at the thought causing Harry to laugh. Draco shook his head at Hermione before returning his attention back to Angus and replying. "No, just me and Harry here, Hermione hates to fly. Completely loathes being in the air. Harry is a great Seeker though and I am a fair Chaser."

Angus looked at the two boys with what could only be described as rapture. "We have three spots to fill this year; Seeker, Chaser, and Keeper. I was worried that we would have to scrounge around the younger years for players with so many spots to fill and they normally don't have much experience in the air. Did you bring brooms by any chance?"

Both boys nodded "We both have Nimbus 1700's" Harry stated causing the other boys at the table to look at him with their jaws hanging open.

"But that is the newest broom on the market; it has only been out on the market for about a month." Angus did not look like he could be happier than he was at the thought of having players with the newest and fastest brooms available. He was giving Harry flashbacks to Oliver Wood.

"They had to have them, they love to fly and chase each other around like they are completely demented. They spent a fair few hours in the air this summer trying to make me go barmy. Hopefully they can stay out of the hospital wing and won't do too many dangerous maneuvers if they make the team." Hermione said with a small glare at Harry who just grinned down at his sister. Draco could not stop a small chuckle from escaping at Hermione's expression.

All the boys at the table in hearing range were now excited for tryouts so that they could see what the new students could do. Especially Harry, what could he possibly have done to have caused such a glare from his sister?

After breakfast, the siblings were led around the castle by their classmates. They made sure to look appropriately in awe of the moving pictures and moving staircases. They were shown where each of their classes would be while on the tour and peeked into dusty unused classrooms that littered the castle. The group made their way out onto the grounds and settled under a large willow tree near the lake once they had wandered around the castle for a while. The boys took seats on either side of Hermione as everyone settled on a quickly conjured blanket.

"So what are you guys planning to do after NEWTs?" Anya stretched out on the blanket and propped her chin on her hands as she looked at their new classmates with curiosity gleaming in her eyes. They still did not know much about the trio as they had gone right to bed the night before.

"Well, we have not decided for sure yet." Hermione was clearly excited at the prospect of their futures. "I am thinking about getting my Mastery in Arithmancy or Ancient Runes or maybe both. I would love to do something involving research."

Draco leaned back on his elbows and grinned at her answer. Hermione would of course choose something with research. "I am probably going to go for my Potions Mastery but have not made up my mind yet."

Harry just shrugged. "I think I will either go for a Charms or DADA Mastery. I might like to teach one of those subjects eventually."

"We have plenty of time to make a decision." Draco closed his eyes and lifted his face to the sun. "What about you guys?"

The conversation continued in this vein for a while. Eventually the siblings were left on their own under the willow tree as the others went to meet with other friends. Draco continued to lounge on his elbows with his face turned towards the sun. Hermione had shifted so that her head was resting on his lap and she had used a wandless spell so that her book from that morning hovered over her face. She would lazily flick her wand to the left to turn the pages. Harry was beside them sitting Indian style and was playing with a lock of Hermione's hair that had blown in his direction as he and Draco began to talk about Quidditch again. Having such a relaxing moment on the grounds of Hogwarts was something that they had all missed out on the first time around with the mounting tensions and prejudices they were exposed to. They were interrupted when shadows fell over them. Looking up the trio was greeted by the marauders.

"Hi there new peoples of Hufflepuff." Sirius gave a grin, a bow and a wink to Hermione who had peaked around her book, "I am Sirius Black, the most handsome of the Hogwarts blokes." The triplets shared a smile at the exuberance of the boy before them. "This is James Potter." Sirius almost knocked James over with the slap on his back. This caused the two boys to break out in a tussling match that soon had them rolling around on the ground beside the trio's blanket.

Remus just shook his head at his two friends and carried on with the introductions. "I'm Remus Lupin and this is Peter Pettigrew. Can we join you?" Both sat on the blanket when the triplets nodded in unison at the question. Hermione put her book away as she sat up to make room for the marauders. Sirius and James joined them after a few more minutes of rough housing; both panting from their exuberant play.

"It's nice to meet you. I am Hermione; these are my brothers Draco and Harry." Both boys smiled and nodded as Hermione gestured to them in turn.

"So…we have to ask…are you adopted?" Remus smacked the back of Sirius's head at the personal question that he had just blurted out; the familiarity that the marauders were showing caused the trio to give a small laugh.

"Strangely enough, that is not the first time we have been asked that since we have arrived." Harry smiled and ran his hand through his hair making it messier. The marauders looked from Harry to James and back again with looks of bemusement. The triplets just pretended not to notice their expressions. "We are actually triplets. Not adopted at all." Harry's announcement just caused the marauders to look at the three with looks of disbelief.

"But you look nothing alike." Peter seemed to be the most confused of the four boys.

"I don't know what to tell you, not adopted, triplets, that's pretty much us." Harry said with a tight smile at Peter. It was taking everything he had not to hex the ever loving shit out of the little rat that was sitting less than two feet away from him. Sure they were giving everyone a chance to change, but he stilled wanted to squash the little rat. "I am sure that we are not the only siblings that look different from each other."

"Probably the only triplets." James mumbled under his breath. "It's not just that you look different. It's that one of you looks like a Potter and another looks like a Malfoy. Odd that."

Harry said looking at James. "I think I met your dad at the station. He seemed to think that we looked a bit alike. I suppose there is a bit of a resemblance between us." Harry cocked his head to one side as if debating how much he and James looked alike.

"A bit?" Sirius said incredulously. "A bit? You look like bloody twins. You just don't have glasses. And I guess your eyes are different. And maybe your nose is…"

"Enough Padfoot. We get it. They look a lot alike." Remus pushed on Sirius' shoulder to interrupt the babbling Black.

"So, I thought that the Potters were the only descendants left from the Peverell line." James said with a question in his voice as he changed the subject away from their oddly similar looks.

Draco sat up from his reclining position. "The Potter's, if I am not mistaken, are from Ignotus' daughter, who married a Potter. Our line would be from her brother, Ignotus Adair Seward Peverell. The Peverell family then left England and they spent most generations traveling around to different countries. Our parents met while Father was living in Greece. He only moved back here when Mother died so that he could raise us here. Few Peverells have come back to England through the years, but when they did they would normally start to travel again before attracting a lot of attention. This is why people thought that our family was gone. But the main branch flourished despite their travels."

Remus seemed fascinated at this bit of family history. "So where did you guys go to school if you have been in England?"

"Father home schooled us." Hermione waved her wand absently and her hair pulled itself into a messy topknot on top of her head. "He wanted us to come here if he was not able to get us through our NEWTs."

Sirius gazed at the girl in fascination. She had been able to cast a nonverbal charm on her hair without even pausing in her speech. Small wisps of curly hair were already framing her face like a halo.

James was still having a hard time looking away from Harry.

"Are you at least excited about classes? It must be a lot different from being home schooled." Remus seemed to be the only one that was able to ask the triplets any questions. Peter seemed to have dozed off from his corner of the blanket. The other marauders gave a glare in his direction at his rudeness when he started to snore.

"Oh yes, it should be fun to have classes with so many different people." Hermione's excitement for learning brought smiles to Draco's and Harry's faces as they glanced at her. "Are all of the classes going to be with our own houses or will we be mixed up some?" She asked while looking from one marauder to the other.

Remus smiled warmly at the trio. "Most classes for seventh years will have a mix of students from all houses as so many choose to take smaller class loads for their NEWTs. I can't think of any that we will have with just our own houses for this year; last year they were already mixed." The trio nodded in understanding. "What classes are you taking?"

Harry counted off on his fingers as he listed their classes so that he would not miss one. "Let's see, we are taking Defense against the Dark Arts, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Transfiguration, Potions, Herbology, History of Magic, and Charms.

Remus was stunned that they were taking so many of the classes that were considered hard and that were the most time consuming. He was the only Marauder to take all of them and most students had five or less classes that they were focusing on during sixth and seventh years.

Sirius jumped back into the conversation to ask about Quidditch. This started the boys on a long debate about which positions were most important and what everyone played. James was a chaser and Sirius was a beater for the Gryffindor team. Remus confided that he did not much like flying and was not confident enough to play a sport while in the air, but he was more than happy enough to watch the game and cheer his friends on. Draco went back to leaning on his elbows as he insisted in his drawling voice that chasers were the most important players. Harry sat Indian style and swung his hands around wildly as he talked about the importance of seekers.

Hermione just rolled her eyes and placed her head back on Draco's lap and used her charm to hover her book in front of her face again. She would never understand the fascination with Quidditch.

At lunch time Harry closed her book and told her it was time to eat. Sirius thought it was cute how she had completely lost herself in her book and how she looked confused for a moment when the book was taken from her. Her hair was still trying to escape the spelled topknot with wisps of hair framing her face and neck. He could not take his eyes off of her.

After lunch the trio headed back to the dorms to spend some time with their familiars. Hermione collected Eris from one of the couches in the common room and followed the boys to their dorm room. Hermione and Eris settled at the foot of Harry's bed while he sat propped up against his headboard with Charon draped from his lap to his shoulders; Charon had placed his head in the crook of Harry's neck. Draco spread out on his own bed and was stroking Ares's feathers since he was perched on the foot-board and was hooting happily at the attention his human bestowed on him.

Angus, Simon and Westley came in still talking about a girl that had been hitting on Simon in the hall when they noticed the snake draped upon their roommate like a scarf. They stood staring at Harry from the doorway like he had grown three heads.

"Um…Harry?" Harry looked up at Simon's shy voice.

"Hey Simon, everything alright?" Harry grinned at the boy, already knowing what was going through his mind.

"Um, yeah. Hey, did you know that there was a great big snake on you?" Simon's eyes had grown as the snake twitched its tail at the cat that was pouncing and batting at the tail that rested on Harry's lap.

"Oh, I guess I was so tired last night I forgot to introduce you to my familiar. This is Charon. He won't hurt you." Harry gave the head that was resting on his shoulder a scratch.

"Er, Okay." Angus said as the boys made their way to their beds to take seats. All three boys kept a wary eye on the snake. Harry grinned at Hermione who smirked back. They knew that they were not going to keep it a secret that they were all Parselmouths and this would be the perfect time to expose their abilities. The reaction of the students, and eventually teachers, to three Parselmouth Hufflepuffs was just too much for the trio to pass up.

"Are you sure it won't bite us? It's not poisonous is it?" Westley asked as he settled on his bed so that he could still see Harry and his snake.

"Well of course it is poisonous." Draco's smirk looked downright evil in Simon's opinion, and his tone made it clear that he thought it would have been perfectly useless to have a nonvenomous snake. "But it won't hurt you. Harry made the rules very plain to Charon before we decided to bring him to the school and rule one was no biting students unless they are trying to hurt us."

"…made the rules plain…how do you make rules plain to a great bloody snake?" Westley asked looking from one sibling to another from his perch on his bed.

Hermione reached over to give Charon a scratched while cooing to the snake. "Well, he just explained that he was not to hurt anyone unless they were trying to hurt us. Very simple really."

"But snakes can't understand rules." Westley insisted getting a stubborn look on his face and crossing his arms.

"Of course he can." Harry said indignantly and petted Charon as if to comfort the snake.

"Prove it then. Make him do something. Make him go to Hermione." Westley was frustrated that these three seemed to think that they would believe his snake was smart enough to understand English and could understand rules.

Smirking at Westley he did a good impression of Draco's drawl, "Alright." He turned his head to Charon and began hissing. {Go to Hermione.} Three jaws dropped open at the hissing. Charon simply slithered over to Hermione, who began to hiss what a good boy he was.

"You're Parselmouths." Simon seemed to be the first to get over his shock and speak to the trio.

"We are. Is that a problem?" Draco looked at his roommates with a brow raised.

"No, not a problem." Angus said placating the blond triplet with his hands raised with palms out. "Just not something you see every day. Not a very common gift that." The other two boys simply nodded while still watching the snake curled in Hermione's arms.

"Hm." Hermione hummed. "It is not as rare as you think. I think most of the Parselmouth gift has been breed out of the magical lines in England. Most of the rarer magical gifts have. Other countries however still have the gift of Parseltounge in many lines. Our ability comes from our mother."

"Some counties treat Parselmouths as almost royalty since they have so many dangerous species like Charon here who is a magical black mamba, that is why he is so big. They are the only ones that can calm the snakes of the region and in most cases they are the ones that procure venom for potions and medical treatments." Harry added, now playing with Eris who had jumped on Harry when Charon had slithered past.

"I thought that all Parselmouths were descended from Salazar Slytherin." Simon said from his bed next to Harry. He was now much more interested in the topic of conversation rather than fearful of the snake now that he knew for sure that he would not be bitten.

"Well that would be just ridiculous, wouldn't it.?" Draco asked. "If that was the only family with the gift it would not have been so evident in other countries. Slytherin was only one family here in England that was known for the gift at the time of the founders. If I remember right, there was also the Loxias family, which relocated to France at some point, and the Gaunt family, which intermarried with the Slytherin line." Draco clearly had a lot of knowledge about family lines and their magic. _Maybe I should add a History Mastery._ He thought. _I do like history if it is not just about Goblin and Giant wars._ He broke out of his musings when Westley started to speak again

"I never knew that so many lines could talk to snakes." Westley seemed to be shocked at the thought of other families being able to speak to snakes. "I always been told that Slytherin was the only family that could. I think that most everyone here thanks that as well." He had a look of deep thought on his face as he pondered the new information he had learned.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, that is probably why so many in England think it is a dark trait too, just because a dark wizard was able to speak it here. People tend to believe what they are told if they don't look for information on their own. Everyone says Slytherin was dark and a snake speaker so Parseltongue equals dark and no one bothers to check and see if that information is correct. Disappointing really."

The boy's roommates all nodded with thoughtful looks. "Can I pet him?" Simon asked shyly out of the blue. Angus and Westley were surprised at his boldness.

"Sure." Hermione smiled and hissed {This is Simon. Be nice.} Charon stretched out so that Simon could reach him easily.

Scratching the snake's head Simon started to smile. "Wow, he is really nice. I thought he would be a bit slimy but he's not at all." The others then took turns petting the snake and chatting about Parseltongue in other cultures with the trio.

It was not long before it was time to head to dinner. The trio left their familiars in their rooms and walked with the boy's roommates to the Great Hall. The conversation about Parseltongue continued throughout dinner, causing some of their fellow Hufflepuffs to begin to debate on the subject once they had heard the topic of discussion. The Ravenclaws, who felt that they should never be left out of a debate, overheard the Hufflepuffs talking about Parseltongue around the world and started a debate at their own table. Many of the students decided that they would have to do research as they had also thought that the Slytherin line was the only family to produce anyone capable of speaking Parseltongue. The trio continued to talk about the different families that had once been in England that had the ability but had moved elsewhere, completely astounding their classmates; clearly they did not know as much about their history as they thought they did.

The trio made their way happily to their dorm after dinner. Hermione curled up on one of the couches with her book while Harry and Draco played a game of chess. Harry had fetched Charon and had him wrapped around his neck like a scarf came over and petted his head as he watched the game between the brothers.

A few of the Hufflepuffs that had not been a part of the debate about Parselmouths and their origins were startled to see the snake in their common room. Westley and Angus could be heard telling their fellow Hufflepuffs about the other cultures where speaking to snakes was still prevalent and about the other family lines that had been in England with the ability. Eventually a few students were brave enough to come over to the trio and introduce themselves so that they could pet the snake, who absolutely loved all the attention.

Around ten, the trio made their way to their beds for the night. Before they turned out the lights, all the boys said good night to Charon after telling each other goodnight. Harry happily snuggled up to Charon like he was some sort of evil teddy and fell into a deep and peaceful sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Chapter edited 3/6/17

Thank you to everyone that has submitted a review.

Happy reading everyone :)

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

{Parseltongue}

The triplets met in the common room again on Monday morning prepared for their first day of classes. All three had their books packed away in their leather bags which Hermione had placed undetectable extension and feather-light charms on. With the additions of the charms to their bags they would not have to continually go back to their dorms to swap out books. Their bags were loaded with all the school paraphernalia that they would need no matter what their schedule was.

On the way to the Great Hall, Draco whinged to Harry and Hermione about their new uniform colors and how it clashed with his coloring until Hermione huffed at him in exasperation and told him to suck it up. Draco sulked the rest of the way to the Great hall, but quickly changed his expression when Harry told him that people would see him pouting. His impressive mask was back in place before they reached the doors.

Again they were some of the fist students to enter the hall. The three loaded their plates and talked about classes while waiting for their new schedules to be handed out.

Professor Pomona Sprout came up behind the trio and handed them their schedules. "How are you dears settling in?" she said with a smile. She was always so genuine that they trio were fast coming to think that she was the best Head of House available at the school. She had already stopped by the common room to check on the students a few times and always had a kind word for someone, even if they were not one of her students.

"Oh, we are settling in just fine professor." Hermione said with a smile.

"Everyone has been very welcoming and our classmates made sure that we knew where all of our classes will be over the weekend." Harry added.

"We have even managed to meet people from another house." Draco gave an innocent smile to his head of house which was looking at the three of them with a fond smile.

"Well, that is just wonderful. I am so glad that you are settling in. Please let me know if you run into any trouble. I want you to have a wonderful time here dears." She handed them their schedules and bustled off down the table when someone else staggered in and took their seat.

 **Monday:**

 **Arithmancy;** **Double Transfiguration;** **Lunch;** **Double Potions; HOM**

 **Tuesday:**

 **Double Charms;** **Free Period;** **Lunch;** **Double Ancient Runes; Free Period**

 **Wednesday:**

 **Free Period;** **Double Defense;** **Lunch;** **Herbology;** **Charms**

 **Thursday:**

 **Arithmancy;** **Transfiguration;** **Potions;** **Lunch;** **Free Period; Ancient** **Runes**

 **Friday:**

 **Double Charms;** **Free Period;** **Herbology;** **Lunch;** **Double Defense;** **HOM**

"Well, we certainly have a full schedule." Harry said. Hermione just started to bounce in her seat much to her brothers' amusement. Harry would be joining them in Arithmancy and Ancient Runes this time around as Hermione had been tutoring him in secret when Ron was not around during the previous timeline. He had been surprised that he had picked the subjects up so quickly when he had been under the impression that they were extremely difficult.

He had been oblivious to how Ron would try to keep him from studying by distracting him with chess or flying, but now realized now that it was just a form of manipulation. Ron would have been jealous if he had known that Harry was doing as well as he had been in his classes. One of Ron's proudest moments was when he had been picked as a prefect over Harry. It did not matter a bit that Harry was passed over for the position due to more manipulation. He had something that Harry did not and that was all he cared about.

"We do," Hermione agreed still bouncing. "And we have Arithmancy first thing. I wonder what the topic will be on today." The boys just smiled over her head at her excitement.

Anya and Tonya took the seats across from the trio. Anya looked disgusted at Hermione's exuberance. "Why is she so happy?" She directed the question to Draco.

"She really loves Arithmancy." Draco said with a smile. "It is our first lesson today."

"But it is so early." Tonya spoke up with a yawn. Apparently she disliked mornings enough to speak up. She propped her head on her hand as she blinked sleepily at her plate.

"She really, really loves Arithmancy." Harry piped up before taking a bite of fruit.

Anya just shook her head at the thought of being that excited to go to class and started loading her plate. The group of students talked about the classes they would be going to be attending for the day while they ate and woke up. The trio was by far the group that was attending the most classes. They would be the only ones from their house to take Both Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. Anya and Simon had both dropped Herbology and Potions and Westley and Tonya had dropped Charms and HOM and Angus had dropped Transfiguration and HOM. While they would see their classmates periodically, they would not be seeing them in many of their classes.

"How are you guys not in Ravenclaw with that schedule?" Angus snickered as he looked over the trio's schedule. The trio just smiled and gathered their things. "It looks like I will see you in Transfiguration and Potions then."

The group split up after breakfast. Anya called after the trio to see if they needed to go to their dorms to get books, but they just smirked and patted their book bags and continued on their way.

The trio found the Arithmancy class to be completely engrossing. Hermione sat with Lilly Evens during class and found Harry's mother to be very easy to get along with. She was just as bright as everyone had always said. Hermione quickly started a debate with the other girl about the Arithmancy problem that the professor had placed on the board for them to work on in pairs. Both girls were smiling brightly at having another girl to talk to about their favorite subject.

After class, they walked to the Transfiguration classroom with Lilly and Remus, the only other Gryffindor in the Arithmancy class. Choosing a table at the back of class the trio was joined at their table by Remus. Lilly, James, Sirius, and Peter sat at the table furthest from the door in the back. Before class started they noticed that Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix Black, and Theodore Nott had chosen seats at the back table closest to the door. They had marauders on one side and future Death Eaters on the other.

Draco put his hand around the back of Hermione's chair when she tensed at the sight of the black haired witch for the first time. They had discussed in detail what to do when faced with future Death Eaters but it was a bit off putting to see them again despite their decision to try and change their views and save their lives.

Minerva McGonagall walked to the front of the class and began to speak in her stern tone. "You are in this class to prepare for your NEWTs. I expect your work to show your best effort in this class, and I will not be putting up with shenanigans Messrs. Potter, Lupin, and Black. Do you understand? Good." She gave each student a white mouse out of a box that had been sitting on her desk. "Today you will be turning mice into geese. Animate to animate transfiguration is one of the most difficult to master as you are turning one living thing into another. This is difficult because it takes concentration. Size to size ratio should be considered because an object that is of a different size, will be harder to transfigure. The spell is Pullus, and the wand motion is thus. You may begin."

The class was soon filled with voices of students of students trying to turn mice into geese. "Better than a ferret, right Draco?" Harry laughed and nudged Draco's shoulder with his own. Draco just rolled his eyes. With a point of their wands and with the spell spoken softly in unison, there was a flash of light as three different spells connected with their mice and then three white geese sat where the three mice had been. For a moment the class was quiet.

"Ten points each to Hufflepuff for completing the transfiguration on the first try. Try to reverse it and then do it silently, and if you complete that please try the other spells listed on the board to get different animals."

"How did you do that?" Remus whispered. Harry, who was sitting next to him, was the one than answered. "Magic is all about intention. You have to mean it. And of course, you have to say the words right and do the wand motion. But mostly it is intention." The trio was soon able to cast the spell silently, and while they were moving on to kittens, puppies, and turtles, Remus was moving on to silent casting. McGonagall was very proud of her lion and gave him twenty points.

Before they left the classroom, Draco had to talk Hermione into changing her kitten back into a mouse. She had spent the last fifteen minutes of class snuggling it and had become attached. A dark haired marauder found this to be adorable and had spent some of his time watching the girl as she cuddle the kitten. The three left the classroom in good spirits for lunch.

News had always traveled fast in Hogwarts and as the trio at lunch they could hear as word spread among the tables in the Great Hall about their performance in Transfiguration. Though they could hear the whispers as they spoke amongst themselves and ate, they pretended to be oblivious. They wanted people to know that they were a force to be reckoned with but did not want to come across as braggarts. They would not be fading into the background while attending Hogwarts but they would be confident in their abilities. They wanted to show the world what they could do and drag misconceptions into the light. Their plans and ambitions would not be reached hiding their talents.

Hufflepuff was already excited about their points that were displayed in their hourglass. None of the students could remember Hufflepuff having so many points so early in the year. Generally speaking, Hufflepuff was fairly slow in comparison with the other houses in gaining points...granted they did not normally see the losses that the other houses had throughout the year either.

Halfway thought the first day and already younger Hufflepuffs were trying harder to make sure that they earned points to pull their weight for their house. With the first whispering of the display of power in Transfiguration, they were puffing out their chests in pride at being in the house with the trio and planning to practice harder to make the new members proud to be in the Hufflepuff house.

While in potions, the trio worked together with a confused Severus Snape. When they had walked into the classroom, Severus had been the only one there, so they had politely asked if they could sit with him at his table. Snape was used to always sitting alone during potions and did not quickly enough to tell them to sod off; so the trio simply took seats and started politely conversing with the Slytherin while setting up their stations. They would ask his opinion about ingredients and potions to get him talking with them and by the time class started, Severus Snape was blinking while trying to figure out what had just happened.

He was pretty sure he had just had an intelligent conversation about the effects of taking Invigoration Draught for an extended period of time, but had no idea how such a thing could have happened.

The class was to work in teams of two. Draco pared with Severus and Harry with Hermione. Both teams were able to produce Outstanding Wiggenweld Potions, much to the professors delight. They were then assigned three feet on the healing potion and its properties and uses.

"It was nice working with you." Hermione said to Severus as she packed away her things and gathered Harry's while he put the spare ingredients the school provided from their table away in the store cupboard. "I can tell that you love potions. You seem to be a natural at it." She smiled at Severus who just blinked at her dumbfounded.

"Thanks." He blinked a few more times, then gathered his things, and with a quick "Goodbye" billowed out of the room.

Harry covered a snicker with a cough. "Well, we threw him for a loop."

Draco just smiled fondly after his future godfather. They were all well aware of the sacrifices that Snape had made in the war and how many times he tried to protect the students of Hogwarts. This was one man that they were all determined to save.

The marauders caught up to the trio in the hallway.

"Oy. Sorry you guys had to work with Snivellus." Sirius said laughing while pulling his bag over his shoulder.

The trio stopped in the middle of the hallway at the insult that Sirius had uttered. A few steps later the Marauders turned around when they noticed that the trio was no longer walking with them, but standing a few steps behind. The trio stood quietly looking back at the marauders with expressionless faces.

"I beg your pardon…" Hermione's voice was slightly pinched.

"What did you call him?"

"Oh, I think that they called Severus 'Snivellus." Draco addressed his siblings. Watching the three speak this way with displeasure practically dripping from their words already had the Marauder's jaws hanging open and worries creeping into their thoughts. The lack of expression and the clear disapproval sent shivers down three spines. It was rare that anyone ever called them on their actions, so they were not quite sure how to react.

"I thought that was something…" Hermione turned to Harry.

"…people did when they…" Harry nodded.

"…were toddlers…" Draco scoffed and shook his head.

"…surely their parents taught…" Hermione asked of Draco.

"…them better than to be…" Draco nodded at Hermione in understanding.

"…common bullies?" This last was asked in unison as all three turned as one to look at the Marauders with a single brow raised each as if they were awaiting an answer to the question they had not directly asked.

The Marauders took a moment to look between the siblings and process the conversation that they had just witnessed.

"Oy!" Sirius finally stated. "We are not bullies."

Harry shifted his bag to his other shoulder. "Hn. So one day you will proudly tell your sons and daughters about your interactions with Severus Snape while you were here at Hogwarts? And they will not be ashamed of you and your actions?" With this question, three of the marauders blinked and shuffled their feet. They had never thought that they were bullying anyone or thought about how their future children would view their acts. They had never really thought about children at all.

"It's just teasing and pranks. My son will love to do pranks." James said after a moment with a slight hesitation in his voice.

Harry nodded. "And if your son is teased or pranked like you prank…let's just go with Snape since he is the only one we know about. He will be fine if a group pranks him like you prank Snape?"

"If you are fine with that, then I guess it is just pranking and we apologize. Name calling just seems a bit juvenile to us, but we are new and guess you would know where the line is drawn when you prank your friends. I guess you must be very good friends if you have such nicknames between you." Hermione was a very good actor when she put her mind to it. The look of innocence she gave the marauders made Draco proud.

Remus looked ashamed at this point. "We are not exactly friends with Snape, more sort of long term rivals." Peter just stood in the background while his friends tired defend their actions to the trio. He had come around the corner trying to find his friends and did not look pleased at all when he heard the conversation that was taking place.

"I see." Draco's voice clearly said that he did not. "Shall we continue on to history?" He said with a glance at his siblings.

The trio swept past the marauders and made their way to History of Magic with Remus following at a much more sedate pace. Draco took a seat at the table with a subdued Remus while Harry sat behind them next to a surprised Severus. Hermione claimed a seat next to Lilly who quickly picked up their discussion from their earlier Arithmancy class.

Harry was having success in getting Severus to converse by asking about the use of different potions in a defensive manor. Remus could not help but compare the interactions with both Lilly and Severus with the ones that he and his friends had had with the trio so far. The trio was polite and did not seem to think that Lilly was beneath them because she was muggleborn or think that Severus was beneath them or evil because he was a Slytherin. A soft poke to his side caught his attention.

"What has you in such deep thought Remus?" Draco asked with one brow raised.

"I don't know. I guess I am just thinking about what you guys said."

"You mean about bullies?" Draco was careful to keep his expression to a neutral expression. He was having difficulty hiding his glee at having one of the Marauders questioning their actions so early in the year. It was the first day of classes after all. He could not wait to tell Harry and Hermione as they had been at a loss as to what could possibly rein the Marauders in. Remus was clearly conflicted if his expression was anything to go by.

"Yes." Remus paused to gather his thoughts. "I never really thought about the pranks we pulled as anything malicious until you said something. Maybe we do cross a line though."

"Hn." Draco made a soft sound in the back of his throat as he thought. _What would be the best way to get the wolf to think about his actions as bullying?_ "I suppose that it is difficult to see your actions from the point of view of someone else." Remus nodded. "What if you had a friend that was different from everyone else? It is not their fault that they are different, they just are and you are the only person that they consider their friend because of whatever it is that makes them different than others." Remus's eyes got wide as he listened to Draco create a simple hypothetical situation to explain his viewpoint. "This friend doesn't have many friends other than you, and is the focus of others that try to destroy everything that you love about them, just because he is different. They call him names, pick on what he is wearing, his hair, his teeth...even the condition of his school supplies. They often create situations for your friend to be humiliated in front of others. What would you call those people that try to tear down your friend for something that they have no control over?"

Remus swallowed before answering in a whisper. "Bullies." One of his greatest fears was that someone would find out that he was a werewolf and would treat him differently because he had been bitten as a child. He knew that the wizarding world looked down upon werewolves and that people would ostracize him if they found out that he was different. He had not thought of the wizarding world as bullies, but Draco's question gave Remus a new perspective. Remus did not much like the thought of being the focus of bullies; nor did he like the thought of himself in the roll of the bully.

"Exactly. There is a difference in friendly pranks that would probably do with your friends. But if the person that you are pranking feels hurt or like you are targeting them, well, I know that I certainly would not want to be in their place. It would probably make them feel like they were locked into role that they had to play because who would think of them as anything better than what they were told?" Remus looked up at this question.

"What do you mean, locked in a role?"

"Well, let's use this made up friend that you have that is different as an example, shall we." Draco smiled at the wolf as he nodded. "Let's say that someone would tell your friend that they were worthless every day, a freak that would never amount to anything. They have no worth to society and cannot contribute anything of worth at all. They would eventually begin to believe what they were told as they would never hear anything different. They would simply become that which they had been accused of all along because they believe it to be true. It creates a self-fulfilling prophecy."

Remus did not know how to respond to the profound words of his seat mate. As professor Binns came to the front of the class and began to lecture about a goblin war, Remus lost himself in thoughts about what he felt he could achieve because he was a werewolf. He did not think that he would amount to much of anything in the Wizarding world because he was a werewolf. He was one of the smartest people in his year, but he had always been told that werewolves would not be able to achieve much in their society. His dad had told him that. But was that actually true or could things get better for werewolves. Right now he was kicking himself for not researching the laws and restrictions placed on werewolves around the world. He did not want to lock himself into a role he did not want if it was something that he could overcome, even if it meant moving to a country that would have fewer restrictions.

While thinking about his own situation, he thought about Severus Snape. They had started to call him evil and a slimy greasy git on the train ride to Hogwarts in their first year. He honestly could not remember a single conversation with the dark haired Slytherin, where they had actually asked him about his life or about his goals or anything really. Remus sank down in his seat as he wondered about the boy that he had never taken time to get to know but had spent almost six full years picking on. Out of all the students of Hogwarts, Severus had taken the brunt of the Marauder's pranks and looking back, Remus could not think of a single incidence where the Slytherin had done anything to merit their attention. He only ever retaliated when he was backed into a corner though he could give as good as he got. This realization more than anything, made Remus feel like he was three inches tall.

Remus was jolted out of his musings by the students around him gathering their things and departing the classroom. He had been locked into his own thoughts throughout the entire class period. He got a quick smile from the trio as they left the room and made their way to the Great Hall for dinner.

Remus met up with the other Marauders on his way to the Great Hall. He told them about the conversation that he had had with Draco and about his thoughts on how he felt about being a werewolf and how the world looked at him. When he asked them about why they picked on Severus, they just stopped and stared at him, unable to come up with an answer. He then explained about Draco's theory on self-fulfilling prophecies and told them that he could not think of a single time that Severus had started anything with them. James and Sirius seemed to be thoughtful and then a bit green when Remus asked what they would feel like if they were hung upside down with their undergarments on display for the school to see while Peter just seemed to have sucked on a lemon. They were quiet when they entered the Great Hall and took their seats.

The Marauders seemed to be deep in thought for the duration of dinner and could be seen only picking at their food. This caused some anxiety with the other students and some of the teachers as they thought the trouble makers were planning a big prank. For the first time, the Marauders noticed the wary looks from the other inhabitants of the castle. One thought was going through three minds. _I wonder if they always look at us like that._ Three of the boys found the looks unnerving and could not figure out how they had missed the looks before.

Remus overheard one of the Ravenclaws at the next table cautioning a few first years away from them as some of their pranks were mean. Others mumbled their agreements. When Remus told the others in a whisper, James and Sirius bowed their heads in shame and sunk into their seats a little more. They had never wanted the little first years to be afraid of them; that was something that they thought would only happen to Slytherins.

Peter could tell that his friends were upset at the thought hurting other people's feelings and having first years scared of them. He liked when others were humiliated and wanted to do more pranks that would make himself feel more powerful. He needed the others to pull the pranks off as he did not have the imagination or the power to pull them off on his own. He scowled down at his food as he listened to the other Marauders whisper to each other and talk about that slimy snake they picked on. _Who cares if we prank the slimy git? He deserves whatever he gets._ He hated those new siblings for messing with his fun.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Edited 3/8/17

Thank you everyone for your reviews, follows and favorites. I just hit 300 follows and am very excited.

Happy readings everyone!

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

{Parseltongue}

The trio continued to garner attention with their performance in classes the next day leaving the Ravenclaws slightly put out that three obviously intelligent students were earning so many points for another house; the house of the Ravens tried their best to match the points earned for Hufflepuff but was unable to do so since the trio seemed to find the curriculum to be easy and the teachers could not help but be impressed each time they called on the trio.

The Slytherins felt that the Peverell siblings were a prime example of good breeding and made sure to keep their interactions polite and befitting their stations. They wanted to be careful and keep themselves and their families on the good side of what was sure to be a powerful political family. Letters had already been sent home to parents advising them of the trios' entrance at Hogwarts and any impressions that had already been made.

Most of the attention from the Gryffindors came from the marauders. They continued to watch the interactions of the trio and their fellow year-mates and seemed also to be paying attention to the other houses more than usual. With the marauders watching their houses so closely, the students became pensive and would shoot suspicious glances at the boys. Peter was the only one of the group that was not bothered by the looks they were getting. The other three members of the group could not help but wonder just how they had missed these looks in the past; surely they had not been that oblivious.

On Wednesday morning the trio spent some quality time with each other during their free period. They had received an owl from the ministry while they were enjoying breakfast and had taken the package, still unopened, back to their common room. All three had noticed that Dumbledore had been watching them once they received the package and that he seemed disappointed that they did not open it at the table where he had a better chance of seeing what the ministry owl had delivered to the students. It was amazing to them that no one ever called the old man on his nosiness.

Once the common room had cleared out of most of the students in Hufflepuff house, Hermione had opened the feather light box to reveal a healthy stack of shrunken paperwork.

"This must be the laws that were passed with the votes from the Peverell seat." Hermione whispered, unhappy with the shrunken size of the stack. She had been hoping that the Peverell seat had not been used very much over the years but that did not seem to be the case. As Charlus Potter only gained the seat at Dumbledore's insistence, it was fairly astonishing just how much they had been used in such a short time.

Harry just sighed and took the papers out of the box. He sat them on the table before them and muttered the counter charm for the shrinking spell. The trio winced at the amount of paperwork that they would have to go through. Each one eventually took a law to review.

As they worked, they noticed that they would have to adjust the vote on most of the laws that had been passed using their seat. The vote change would not be enough to change the laws in most cases, but in quite a few cases, the vote had only passed by one or two votes, which should have never happened to begin with. The laws that should not have been passed by such a small margin were placed in a separate file to be brought before the Wizengamot for a revote. Draco would be keeping the ministry busy once he attended his first session.

"Ugh, this is ridiculous. Even with the Wizengamot the way it is now, there should be a margin of about five for a law to pass. None of these with one or two should have ever been put into practice." Draco tossed one law he had been reviewing onto the stack to have readdressed.

"I didn't think we would have to file reversals of vote for so many of these." Hermione was looking at a law in disgust. "This one the Peverell vote is down as in favor for it and pretty much allows for werewolves to be denied employment and requires them to register and tell prospective employers that they are afflicted. In the very next paragraph it states that any employer found to be employing a werewolf will be fined 50 Galleons. It looks like Dumbledore's entire group voted in favor of this crap." She winced as she laid the parchment down and rubbed her temples.

Harry gave her a commiserating look as he flipped through this own law. "Well, we were already aware that he was an arse. This just goes to show that he was more of an arse than we imagined, not to mention that he was not a pro-equality as he would have everyone think."

Draco sighed. "We will be going through these for a few weeks. I didn't think that there would be so many."

"It's amazing how much damage he could do with just a few extra votes." Hermione picked up another law and winced at its title. 'SQUIB CONCERN PROTOCAL' she did not even want to read this one. It looks like all of the laws that he has supported look great on the surface, but are just awful if you bother reading it though. How many people voted for it just because he said that it was for his bloody greater good?"

"Thank Merlin that some of these will have go through a revote." Harry sighed. He hated paper work and this was paperwork from hell.

"The old buzzards are going to be in for a shock when session starts." Draco gave his siblings a smirk. "The letter accompanying this mess was from Bagnold. Apparently she has already issued all current voting seats to Gringotts for verification. She still fears fallout from our seat being held illegally. How much do you want to bet that our votes were not the only ones that were being used without a valid claim?"

"So not only are they going to have to revote on most of this shit, they are going to be losing some votes too. Oh Merlin, I cannot wait to see Dumbledore's face." Harry was smiling like a loon at the thought of the face that the Headmaster would make when he realized that he no longer had all his ill-gotten votes, including theirs.

After a few moments of laughter, the trio put away their papers and called Tippy to take everything back to the manor. They did not want to chance anyone finding any of their important papers.

The trio gathered their things and made their way to join the school for the second period of the day. All the seventh year students that were taking NEWT level DADA gathered for their first defense class of the year, which would be a mixed house class. Most of the students were excited as this was the most popular class in the school.

"This teacher was here last year, which is almost a record for this class." Sirius leaned over his desk to explain the excitement of the students to the triplets.

"A record?" Hermione asked in mock surprise. She knew very well the bad luck that had followed the position for years. Though she thought it less likely that the issue was a curse and much more likely that Dumbledore just wanted the students to be week in defense.

"The position is cursed or something. Most teachers only last a year, if that." James added.

The trio was again sitting in the back of the classroom. The Marauders had taken seats in front of them, and the Slytherins were sitting at the tables to their left. This was the only class where they did not invite anyone to join them at the table or split up among other students. There was an empty seat beside Draco and Hermione sat between her brothers as had become their habit.

"Good Morning class." The professor stood at the front of the class in black robes with his arms crossed across his chest. He was glaring out at the students in a poor attempt to intimidate the class. "For those of you who have not met me, I am Professor John Zypher. "This is your NEWT level Defense Against the Dark Arts Class. I expect you to be able to defend yourselves against attacks, both from a wizard or a creature, before you leave this classroom. If you are competent enough, you will do well on your NEWTs. It is likely that most of you will never progress past the ability to counter minor jinxes or hexes. Some of you, however, may be future Aurors or Unspeakables. Do your best in this class. You never know when it may save your life."

The trio was not very impressed with the teacher's speech. Professor Snape had been much more intimidating and could hold the students in thrall when he spoke.

"Today we are going to try and learn a spell that most adult witches and wizards are unable to cast during their lifetimes. I do not expect any of you to be able to achieve this, so I will offer anyone who is able to cast a fully corporeal Patronus charm one month free of homework assignments."

The trio rolled their eyes at the teachers attempt to talk down to the class while the class murmured in excitement at the thought of having a whole month free of homework. After a brief explanation of how to cast the charm, the trio watched as their fellow students repeatedly cast the charm. A few, like Snape, James, Remus, and surprisingly Bellatrix, were able to produce smoky wisps from the tips of their wands. The trio sat quietly and just watched the attempts of their classmates to produce a Patronus.

"Now, now." Their teacher had finally noticed that they were not attempting the charm after about half an hour of practice. When the teacher spoke, the class looked toward the students that had caught the teacher's attention to find the trio sitting calmly at their desk without their wands even in position for the spell. It was obvious to the other students that they had not even attempted to cast the spell yet. "You must make the attempt. You must try, even if you are incapable of casting the spell with success." Mr. Zypher said with a smirk.

All three had noticed that the teacher had not produced a Patronus, even for his class to see an example of a corporal Patronus. They rolled their eyes as they stood to take position behind their chairs, causing a few of the students keeping close eyes on the trio to raise their brows. The siblings had not been rude to any teachers before, and had clearly looked at the teacher with disdain.

The trio smirked in unison at the teacher, drew their wands, and with a "Expecto Patronum," softly spoken in unison, three fully formed, slightly golden, jaguars stalked out of the tips of their wands to roam around the room. The Patroni would stop and sniff the students they passed and would rub up against the furniture causing small golden sparks to emit from the point of contact which caused more than a few squeaks of surprise from the students.

Everyone stared at the Patroni that were walking around the room in awe. Mr. Zypher could be heard muttering, "Not possible…golden color…unheard of…prodigies." The class gasped as one the golden jaguars sniffed Bellatrix's hand before allowing her to pet it. Her eyes got wide as she actually touched the large jaguar before her; the small sparks were visible where her hand stroked the head of the large cat. When the cat moved away after butting against the black haired girl, she whispered "tingles," to the student beside her while staring at her hand in awe.

After a few minutes, the trio released the spell and their Patroni faded out of the silent room. Professor Zypher had to clear his throat a few times before he could speak. "Well done Peverell siblings, you are exempt from homework until October. The rest of you, provide me with two feet of parchment on the Patronus charm and what it can be used for in a defensive environment. You are dismissed." Peter was the last to leave and stood in the empty classroom staring at the empty doorway where the students had disappeared with a hateful look on his face.

The students left the classroom in a wave towards the great Hall. During lunch, the students that had witnessed the trio cast their Patronus forms, told all their classmates about the fully corporeal golden jaguars that had stalked the classroom and that Bellatrix had actually pet one like an overgrown house cat. Even the teachers could be seen at the head table sneaking glances at the three students that sat quietly at the Hufflepuff table. Professor Sprout was especially proud of her students and awarded 50 points to each of them for casting such a difficult spell since it had not been done in the classroom while Dumbledore gazed at the students over the top edge of his glasses with a twinkle in his eye while he stroked his beard.

Herbology went quickly for the students and then in Charms, the triplets again cast their Patronus for Professor Flitwick much to his excitement. They each earned 25 additional points for an advanced charm of great power performed as a demonstration for the class. The class then went on to learn about a commonly used cleaning charm for clothing. The trio quickly cast the spell for the excited Charms professor and then proceeded to help their classmates with the cleaning spell.

Sirius asked Hermione to help him with his wand motion but was too busy staring at her to pay attention to her instructions. Remus and James just laughed at him when she moved onto another student and told him that he had 'googly eyes.' It was the first time in a long time that Sirius had blushed over anything.

At dinner, their housemates were discussing the cleaning charm they had learned in Charms class when Professor Sprout came by the table. "Hello dears, everyone doing alright? No issues for me?" The happy teacher made eye contact with all the students in hearing range of her. They all shook their heads and smiled at the sweet woman. "That's wonderful then. Messrs. and Miss Peverell, I have a note here from Professor Dumbledore. He would like to see you in his office after dinner. Password is in the note." With one last smile she handed the note to Draco and bustled off towards the head table, patting shoulders of students along the way.

"What could the Headmaster want to see you about?" Simon asked the trio. "He hardly ever talks to the students. We really only see him at meal times."

"Not sure, I guess we will find out after dinner." Harry took another bite of the lemon cake that Hermione had placed on his plate. The trio continued to take their time with their desert and left the hall a full half an hour after the Headmaster had left. Their housemates thought it was strange that they had not left at the same time as the Headmaster, but they seemed to be in no particular hurry to be on their way. It was probably the only time they had seen anyone do anything that would cause the Headmaster to wait.

The trio had known that it would not take long before the Headmaster would want to speak to them in private and possibly try to integrate himself into their lives so the summons was not unexpected. they had decided that they would only answer direct questions and try to make the Headmaster as barmy as possible by being as vague as possible with their answers whenever they could. It is not like he had any business knowing about their personal lives anyway. He was just their Headmaster after all.

The trio reached the gargoyle and said the password "Lemon Drops" in unison." After a short ride on the rising staircase they entered the office at Dumbledore's call of "Enter." His eyes were madly twinkling as the trio walked in and took seats on the sofa that he had conjured for them in front of his desk. Hermione was as always, between her two brothers.

"Would you care for a lemon drop?" He asked with a grandfatherly smile. Draco and Hermione shook their heads with polite smiles while Harry reached out to take one. Hermione and Draco were impressed when Harry switched the lemon drop he took to a different hard candy that he had been carrying around while waiting for this very opportunity. Dumbledore never knew that Harry was not sucking on one his lemon drops which they suspected he laced with some sort of potions. He always took his own candies from a bag he kept in his pocket after all. None of them could remember ever seeing him take one from the bowl in their past lives, and now they had one to check for potions.

The Headmaster settled back into his elaborate desk chair, steepled his hands under his chin and twinkled at the trio in front of him. They just stared back with no expression at all on their faces. It was so quiet in the room that you could even hear Harry moving his candy from one side of his mouth to the other. After a few minutes in which the trio did not even twitch, he finally began to speak in his grandfatherly voice.

"I was so delighted to receive your letter this summer requesting entrance to Hogwarts. It is always a delight to find that an old family still flourishes when it was thought that the line expired." The Headmaster looked at the siblings as if waiting for them to speak. They just continued to stare back. "Ahem. I understand that you are now the last of your line and are in fact living on your own; possibly at your family's estate. There must be much there that you do not understand about both your title and estate." More blinking was the only reply he received from the trio. The twinkling had slowly started to dim as the Headmaster became frustrated at the lack of response he was getting.

The trio, however, were already finding the Headmasters predictability to be extremely amusing and were having a hard time not laughing at how easy it was to unsettle him. They had not even been in the office ten minutes. The Headmaster was holding form and had only made statements about what he already knew or was common sense, and then he would expect everyone to fill in the blanks that he left open. It had taken the trio a lot of time going over their memories while meditating to realize this subtle tactic for getting information.

The Headmaster lost a bit more of his twinkle at still not receiving any response. "Your teachers have had nothing but good things to say about your performance in classes." Again the trio just sat quietly. "And today all three of you cast such strong Patronus Charms. When did you learn to cast the Patronus?"

Finally a question. Hermione was amazed that she had never noticed this tendency of the Headmaster's in the original time line; it was so obvious now that she was looking for it.

"Our father taught us the Patronus Charm a few years ago." Draco supplied, but did not elaborate.

Dumbledore visibly perked up for a moment at having gained some information from the trio in front of him, but then seemed to deflate when he realized that would be the only information offered in answer to his question. _Oh, for Merlin sake. This is like pulling teeth and taking Skele-Gro to regrow them._ "I see. Well it was strong magic to be sure. Something to be proud of." He gave them his best grandfatherly smile.

Silence.

Dumbledore could not believe how hard it was to get these three to talk. He wanted to see if they would have any information on the Deathly Hollows. He also wanted to know if these three could be used in any way against Voldemort, for the greater good of course, but he had no idea how to get them to open up to him. He smiled again in his grandfatherly way. Since many people looked up to him and trusted him because he was the leader of the light, his grandfather persona would pull more people into his sphere of influence. He had spent hours in front of a mirror when he started to go gray to perfect the smile and twinkle, and it seemed to have no effect whatsoever on these three.

"I must say, I was surprised to see all three of you sorted into Hufflepuff." The trio blinked at the Headmaster. Harry sucked away at his piece of candy distracting the Headmaster for a moment. "Ahem, the Peverell family was historically sorted into Gryffindor; the house for the brave." He smiled again at the quiet siblings before him and tilted his head forwards so that he could gaze at them over the rim of his glasses. They still did not seem inclined to provide him with information.

"The Peverell family has a fascinating history. I have spent quite a lot of time researching the history of your family." All three siblings tilted their heads slightly to the left causing the Headmaster to blink at them. _That…that is a bit creepy._ After unsuccessfully suppressing a shiver, the Headmaster continued. "Well, I am sure that you know all about your family history." He gave a hearty chuckle at his comment expecting the siblings to join him in his laughter. They only continued to blink at him with blank expressions however, causing the Headmaster to stop laughing abruptly feeling uncomfortable. "I believe that the three brothers were the most famous of your line. Ignotus, Antioch, and Cadmus Peverell."

The trio had to stop themselves from giggling as they tilted their heads in unison to the right. The Headmaster seemed to find it unnerving to see them do anything in unison, and they were milking that for all it was worth. The Headmaster now had a small tick just under his left eye.

"Ahem. Those three brothers were the inspiration behind the story in the book The Tales of Beedle the Bard. The Three Brothers. I am sure that you are familiar with it.

Dumbledore was startled to realize that he was having a hard time not fidgeting under the steady stares coming from three identical sets of green eyes that seemed to taunt him with memories from his past; he found that one memory seemed to come to the forefront of his mind where had used a spell that was the exact color of those stares. Poor Ariana. He had to shake his head to dispel the maudlin thoughts that had snuck up on him. "Ahem, I was surprised that not one of you managed to get into Gryffindor house."

Dumbledore shifted back in his seat and stroked his beard with a sigh. _These three are strange. They do not act like any children I have ever had contact with. How will I get them to open up to me?_ He decided to be a little bit blunter with them. _Maybe they are not as quick on the uptake as their teachers think._ "Since your father has passed, and I am sure you are struggling...it is extremely difficult having to deal with such upheaval after all...and while you are so young. I would be more than happy to help you with managing your estate."

He had helped many orphaned youngsters with their estates over the years. Most were thankful enough for his help that they let the Headmaster have his pick of tomes from family libraries or artifacts from the estates to show their appreciation. Most of the possessions that he displayed in his office came from those estates that he had picked through after relieving the grieving youngsters of some of their wealth without their knowledge. His family had never been wealthy, but he had made up for that with his trusting and humble manner. People would give the defeater of a Dark Lord anything.

"Your offer is appreciated, Headmaster," Hermione said with a sweet smile causing Dumbledore's eyes to twinkle like mad again. _Finally, things are going the way they should. The Peverell library is sure to have books that I have never seen and have information on the Deathly Hollows._ The Headmaster tried to hide his glee at the girl's comment.

"But we will have to decline," Harry said with the same sweet tone. _Wait...What?_ The twinkle completely disappeared from the Headmasters eyes. The trio could see a few of the 'sleeping' portraits from past Headmasters struggle to hide their twitching lips. Dumbledore did not notice the few portraits that could not stop the smiles and smirks from flashing across their faces at his obvious distress.

"You see, our father, before he died, made sure that we were prepared for our inheritance." Draco drawled. Draco could not manage to look sweet, but Harry and Hermione were impressed at the effort he made.

"Our estate is in good hands, and we have no need for your...help." Hermione assured the headmaster.

He had no idea what had just happened. These teens should have been jumping at having him help them. _They should be thanking him for his generosity. His time was very valuable and he deserved to be compensated when he made offers to help those that looked up to him. He was Albus Dumbledore for Merlin's sake._

"Was that all Headmaster?" Harry asked, lifting a brow.

"My siblings and I still do have homework to finish after all." Draco rose from the couch and extended a hand to Hermione who rose gracefully. The three continued to the door before turning to the Headmaster as one.

"We never expected such a welcome at Hogwarts, where the Headmaster himself would take time for a little _chat_." Hermione said with that same sweet smile to hide the biting sarcasm if the sentence. With one last nod in unison to the Headmaster, the siblings left the office, leaving behind one very confused and frustrated Headmaster and more than one portrait that struggled to hide their amusement at the current Headmaster not getting what he wanted for once. They pretended to be asleep most of the time just so that they would not have to talk to the man that treated their school like his own fiefdom.

 _What just happened? I did not get any information on the Hollows or their family history. I was not even able to confirm the rumor that they were able to speak Parseltongue. Those children are unnatural with those cursed eyes. Always looking at you but not saying anything._ The Headmaster continued to question just when he had lost control over the visit, never realizing that he never had control to begin with.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Thank you very much for all the reviews. I was astounded at the response that I got from the last chapter, I am so glad that you all are still enjoying my chapter. As I always I will do my best to respond to your reviews and questions, so please continue to ask me anything- just know that I will do my best not to give too much away.

The only question that I was asked that I could not answer in PM was if the trio would face Voldemort in my story. I will say this- Voldemort will be taken care of. :)

Happy reading!

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

{Parseltongue}

The school seemed to be in high spirits on Friday morning. Everyone had survived their first week of classes. OWL and NEWT students were calm even when faced with the piles of homework that their teachers appeared only too happy to assign them. The great hall was noisy as students prepared for the last day of classes before they had the weekend free. They were also excited about the tryouts that would take place that evening after dinner. The Gryffindors would have the field first, followed by Ravenclaw, then Slytherin, and finally Hufflepuff.

Angus was beaming as he ate scrambled eggs and toast. "We may have a chance this year. Our players from last year play well together and have a bit of experience with each other in the air now. Now we just need a Seeker, a Chaser, and a Keeper. You said that you are good right?" He asked Draco and Harry with desperation filling his wide eyes.

"Oh, they are good alright. You would only have to worry about them pulling stupid stunts and ending up in the hospital wing with the most ridiculous injuries." Hermione took a moment to glare at Harry who just smiled at his sister.

"Blimey Harry, what on earth did you do?" Westley asked the boy with awe. He would do everything he could to stay out of the angry glare that had just been aimed at Harry.

"Well," Draco smirked at Harry. "He has been chased by rouge bludgers and had his arm bones broken, fell from 100 feet, and constantly does dives that no sane person would try just for the hell of it. Take your pick."

"Oy. You were right there pulling stunts with me." Harry tossed a piece of fruit at his brother while Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes in exasperation.

Their classmates just stared at Harry with wide eyes. The marauders who had been listening into the conversation taking place at the Hufflepuff table turned around to stare at the black haired triplet.

"You fell from 100 feet?" James asked in a whisper, his eyes were wide as he asked the question on everyone's mind.

"Well, I guess it was that far. It was raining really hard so it was hard to tell." Harry just shrugged and speared another piece of fruit with his fork as if he were not talking about falling from a distance that could have killed him. "Was seriously not that big of a deal." He said nonchalantly to the other's disbelief.

"100 feet mate..." Sirius looked at Harry as if he did not understand the concept. Harry just blinked back at the black haired marauder with a small smirk.

"So, Angus, who else is a part our house team already?" Harry clearly wanted the topic to change.

"Well, we have Martin Orpington who is a chaser like me. He is in sixth year. Our beaters are Paul Wood who is in fifth year and Alexander Goshawk who is in Sixth with Martin." Harry wondered if Paul was related to Oliver Wood. Angus continued to talk about the games they had played the year before. Hufflepuff had not won a cup in over a decade and last year they came in third place. Draco made a slight face when the Hufflepuffs explained that it was alright that they came in third place as long as they did their best while playing. Draco would always feel that first place was the only acceptable outcome and who cared how well you did if you lost? You still lost. Hermione just smiled at him and pinched his thigh under the table. After a brief flinch his face smoothed back out to his blank mask that hid his thoughts about losing from those around him.

Classes that day went by quickly. Their last class was History of Magic which was being taught by a living Professor Binns. The trio quickly found out that death had not been a factor in making the man boring. His class was still the most boring in the school and most of the students would fall asleep during the lecture he was giving on goblin or giant wars.

All three decided to continue with their previous study habits for the class and read the book and take notes from their readings. Hermione had once asked a student that had sat the exam and was told that there were copies of old NEWT exams available in the library as study aids. It would have been handy to know that all end of year exams were available in the library as a study aid with all the horrible DADA teachers the trio had gone through in their original life. They would be making use of these study guides throughout the year for their classes and would have to use the HOM tests more than the others.

Hermione had found a handy charm that would copy books in the Peverell library; it had been created by someone in the sixteenth century and kept secret by the family. This charm was one of the reasons that the Peverell family had the largest library in Magical Europe. The sneaker members of the family would copy rare books while visiting other families and add the replica to their own library. After the duplicate was made, there was no way to tell which one was the original book as they were exact copies.

Hermione quickly made use of this charm and copied all the past exams for all of their classes and then made copies for each of them to use to study from. She then charmed the study guides to look like various class book books so that no one would know what they were reading or that she had copied some of the Hogwarts' books. She also copied some of the rarer books in the library before secreting them into her trunk. When Draco had found out he had teased her and laughed for half an hour straight at the thought of Hermione doing something so scandalous.

"Well, we didn't have those." Was the only thing Hermione would in response Draco's teasing. Both boys understood that she loved her books but had never thought she would copy a book without buying it; however, they would never stop her from collecting some rare books, even if they were being copied and not paid for.

While they explored the library with her on Thursday they found out the real reason she was making copies. The siblings found many books that they knew would no longer be available when whey had gone to school. Even outside the restricted section they found books that would go missing. Most had helpful defensive magic explained in them. Books on Wards, Magical Creatures, Spell Creation, Family Histories, Enchanting, and Alchemy were just some of the subjects in the main area of the library that they found books on that would go missing. In the restricted section there were books on Blood Wards, Blood Magic and Rituals, Dark and Gray spells, History of Dark Magic, and Dark Potions. In most cases, whole subjects would disappear completely from the library.

* * *

~Thursday~

The trio sat around a table in a back corner of the library under a privacy bubble that Draco had cast. Hermione had books spread out before her as she copied them and placed the copies carefully into her expanded bag.

"Do you think that Dumbledore is the one getting rid of all the books?" She asked sadly as she stroked the cover of a book on werewolves that was fairly accurate and did not portray the werewolves as dark creatures at all. She had read every book on werewolves available in the library when Remus was teaching them in third year and had only found books that portrayed werewolves as mindless killing machines. There were three others besides that one she held in her hands now that provided a much more factual and unbiased opinion. One of the books had even been written by a werewolf.

"I think it is very possible. He would be the only one that had the power to decide what was in the library." Draco explained looking up from a potion book they had pulled out of the restricted section; they had no trouble getting into the restricted section since seventh years had unlimited access so that they could study for their NEWTS. "The Board of Governors has had nothing to do with what is stocked in here for quite some time now as they felt that it was too time consuming to bother with the books at the school. They felt that the Headmaster would do a better job than they would at deciding what should be stocked and what should not."

Harry nodded as he looked through A History of Dark Arts. "I think it is more than possible. I spent a lot of time sneaking into the restricted section, and everything in the library at our Hogwarts depicted Dark Arts as evil and Light magic as good. According to this, Dark Arts was more earth based and took more control than Light magic. Only people that had good control over their magic could successfully cast dark spells without hurting themselves and their magical core. Elemental magic was a big part of that and used to be taught here along with Spell Creation, Enchanting, Warding, and even Dark Arts until it was determined to be evil and illegal under Dumbledore's…reign. It says that Dark Magic is more difficult but that anyone could use it with enough practice and control. This talks about exercising your magic like a muscle. The more you use it the more you can do with it."

"Oh, but Harry, some spells are evil surely? I mean. The Unforgivable are all just awful." Hermione had picked up another book to make a copy as she spoke to Harry.

"There is a chapter on them in this book, hang on, found it!" As Harry skimmed the page his eyes got wide. "Oh."

"What?" Draco asked with impatience.

"Oh." Harry looked up to see that he had both of his siblings' undivided attention. "Well, it says that the killing curse and the Crucio were created by Helga Hufflepuff."

"What?" Both Draco and Hermione whispered in disbelief.

"Yeah, apparently the killing curse was for animals that were to be used for food so that they would die painlessly and instantly. The intent that people are using now to cast it actually damages their core and will eventually cause the person to have issues with their magic; the spell was never intended to be used on humans and the wand motion and incantation reflected that. It says that holds true for most dark spells. If they ae used incorrectly, they cause damage. And she created Crucio to help a patient that had fallen down the stairs of the castle and been paralyzed. It was used to stimulate the nerves until they were able to feel their legs again. He regained full use of his legs in three months of treatment." Harry continued to look at the pages of his book with surprise.

"What the fuck, Harry." Both boys almost cracked their necks at the swear word that had come out of Hermione's mouth. "Why are we not being taught this?" Hermione was clearly upset that their magical history was being hidden from them. Hermione hated when knowledge was destroyed or hidden. The boys had to calm her down when they had found records of the classes that had been canceled in the last few decades. They now understood why there were so many unused classrooms in the school.

"It has to be Dumbledore then," Draco said with a frown. "He is trying to manipulate everyone it to a world of his making. It would explain the passing of those asinine laws and why these books go missing. His wants his own little world of light that worships at the altar of Dumblefuck." His voice was laced with disgust. "I grew up learning about Dark Arts and I didn't even know that information about the unforgivables. I have never even seen those books on Wizarding History. These books on Wizarding Culture and Traditions would be great for muggleborn students but disappear completely and we just found them in the restricted section. They should be in the regular part of the library. Most of the muggleborn students shy away from the restricted section because they have been told that they keep the dangerous books in there. Why would they read a book on our traditions if they think it is dangerous?" Draco ranted while pointing out various books with one hand and pushing his hair back with the other. "I don't even think that I have seen books at the shops at Diagon Alley on some of these subjects. Most may be found in Knockturn though, but the muggleborn are told that it is dangerous to go down there. Most Pureblood families dislike the muggleborns so much because the come in to our society and then replace our traditions with their own; it is pointless because the muggleborns have no way to learn the traditions without access to the books and they won't go looking for the information if they are all classified as dangerous." Draco was panting by the time he had vented his frustration.

Hermione nodded. "I would have loved to read that book on traditions or even that one on politics and laws. It would have made life so much easier for me. And the holidays sound so exciting and profound. I would love to be more in tune with my magic." Hermione was still stroking the books like lost little children.

"Copy them all Hermione." Harry told her with a smile. "We will make sure that the world does not forget and that they find out what a prick Dumbedork is." Hermione smiled at her brothers and finished making copies the books they had on their table. Once she was finished they quickly put the books back where they had been found and made their way back to their dorms. Hermione would place the books in her truck and then update the list of books from their home library to include their new copies. She would be making copies all year but she would get as many as she could. Hopefully, Dumbledore would not have the chance to do so much damage in this timeline as he had in the original.

Draco had a thoughtful look on his face as he walked from the library with his siblings. "Hermione, do we have a copy of the Hogwarts charter at home?"

"I can check," She pulled out her charmed library list that would automatically update to include all books in the Peverell houses with a swipe of a wand and looked through the names of the books they had in the Peverell library. "Yes Draco. We do. Why?"

"Because my dear sister, Peverells have a seat, not only on the Wizengamot, but on the Board of Governors as well. We will need to look into what the BoG should be doing and what powers they have just handed over to Dumbledore because he was the Great Defeater of Grindelwald."

Harry and Hermione traded glances and mirrored their brother's smirk.

* * *

After copying down the homework for HOM, which had seemed to take an eternity even with self-study, the trio headed down to dinner to eat while waiting for Hufflepuffs turn for tryouts. If breakfast was loud and rowdy, dinner was insane. Students were shouting at other house tables about how great their team was going to be and how they would win the cup.

The trio noticed that the marauders were not yelling insults to any of the other houses and seemed to just talk amongst the other Gryffindors. They were able to hear Peter trying to egg the marauders into messing with others from their table. They exchanged glances as they watched the rat interact with the others.

"We should hex Snivellus. Right Padfood? It will be loads of fun."

"I don't think so Wormy." Sirius looked like it took a lot of effort to say no to hexing Snape.

"I think we need to lay off of Snape, Peter." James said while playing with his mashed potatoes. Lily smiled and kissed his cheek at this statement. He had managed to surprise her with his maturity he was showing so far this year. He grinned goofily at her while she blushed and continued to eat.

Peter was now frowning at his friends. "He is just a slimy snake Prongs. He is the easiest to prank. The greasy git deserves it."

Remus put his fork down to look at the boy beside him. "We don't want to be bullies Peter. Snape hasn't done anything deserve us targeting him. We went beyond pranking before and were outright bullying him."

"You are only saying that because of the new students. They got in your head and messed with you." Peter wanted to make his friends help him prank Snape as he would never be able to prank anyone alone. "They probably cast a Confundus charm on you."

"They made a comment in passing that made us think for ourselves about what we were doing Wormy, they didn't cast a spell on us. We were acting like bullies." Sirius said with a sad look over at the Slytherin table. He could see his younger brother eating and talking with his friends. He wondered if he had been bullying his brother while messing with the other snakes. He sighed and played with his food as he wondered about Regulus. He had heard one of the students in the hall say that he was going to try out for seeker for the Slytherin team this year. He nodded decisively to himself as he stood up, gaining the attention of his friends. He ignored them as he walked over to the Slytherin table where his brother was sitting.

Peter had a look of sadistic glee on his face at the thought of seeing Sirius hex a Slytherin that Remus noticed out of the corner of his eye while he was watching Sirius make his way to the Slytherin table. The look he was making caused Remus to frown in confusion. _Why is Peter looking at Sirius like that? He looks like he wants him to hurt someone._

Regulus tensed visibly as if expecting a humiliating prank or painful hex when Sirius stopped by his side causing Sirius to wince internally. "Hey Reg." He was glad that he was able to speak without his voice cracking with nervousness.

"Sirius." Regulus nodded at his brother without relaxing one bit. Sirius had not spoken to him without insulting him for being a Slytherin since he come to Hogwarts.

Most of the hall had gone silent in preparation of a prank from Sirius and the other marauders. The school had been preparing for whatever the boys had been planning and were prepared for the worst to happen since it looked like Slytherin was the target. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff both seemed to be relieved that the prank the group had been planning was going to be aimed at the Slytherins instead of them.

Teachers were pulling their wands out and sighing in resignation. They would be giving the marauders their first detention within the first week it seemed. The Headmaster was twinkling away as he watched Sirius Black approach the Slytherin table. He just knew that he would be able to use the boy for the greater good in the future

"Look," Sirius shuffled his feet and took a deep breath before looking at his brother. "I heard in the hallway that you were trying out for seeker and wanted to say good luck. You were always good on a boom so I am sure that you will make the team."

The Hall was shocked the wish of good luck from the Gryffindor. Peter was clearly the most disgruntled at the happenings over at the Slytherin table; Remus saw the change in Peter's expression and decided that he would have to think about what was wrong with Peter later. _Has he always looked like that? He look upset that someone didn't get hurt._

Regulus stared at his brother in disbelief for a minute before clearing his throat and replying in bewilderment "Thanks Sirius." Sirius nodded and made his way back to his table leaving a very confused Slytherin table behind. Bellatrix made her way to her cousin and sat beside him while casting diagnostic spells under the table where no one could see.

"You are clean. He did not cast a spell on you." She said in disbelief as she looked over at the Gryffindor table. Narcissa was sitting close enough to hear her sister when she said this. All three Blacks continued to watch their cousin throughout dinner along with the rest of their table and many other students around the hall.

Most of the teachers seemed pleased that they had not had to issue any detentions or send anyone to the infirmary. The trio seemed to be the only ones in the Great Hall that noticed that the Headmaster was less than pleased with this new development.

"Maybe he will come home for Yule this year." Regulus whispered while looking over at his cousin with hope.

"Oh, Reg." Bellatrix just patted his shoulder and sighed thinking that it was unlikely Sirius would ever come home. She understood how Regulus felt being abandoned by a sibling. Her older sister Andromeda had just left home and would not return any of her letters because she thought her family was evil for not liking that creep Ted that she had married. Bellatrix shivered as she thought about her sister being married to someone that made her skin crawl when she had met him. Sirius thought the same thing and would probably never change his mind while thinking that Dumbledore walked on water.

"If he came home, Mother wouldn't spend yule crying." Regulus whispered to the black haired girl that was still patting his shoulder to comfort him.

"Anything is possible Reggie." Narcissa whispered across the table. "He wished you luck, and I would have never expected that. So don't give up on him." She hoped that she was making the right choice and not keeping his hopes up only to have them dashed later, but she had seen him moping about the common room since he had come to school because his brother would have nothing to do with him. Things just got worse for her cousin when his brother left to visit the Potters and did not bother coming back last year; he had not even said goodbye. Regulus had been devastated, and his Mother had locked herself in her room for two weeks before the family hid every picture of her son so that she could walk through the house without breaking down into sobs as soon as she saw them. Her cousin's house was always quiet now that it was so steeped in depression. Even her cousin's father would not say much nowadays. He was normally found in his study looking at a family portrait and drinking fire-whisky.

It was quiet enough in the hall for the whispered conversation to carry to the sensitive ears of a werewolf who stared at his goblet of pumpkin juice with wide eyes. _What the fuck?_

Sirius joined Remus in watching James tryout for the chaser position after securing one of the Gryffindor beater positions. Remus waited until Peter had left the stands in a snit because they still did not want to prank anyone before telling Sirius what he had heard his brother and cousins whisper in the Great Hall. Sirius had a pensive look on his face as he thought about Regulus and his family.

"I don't know Remus. When I was sorted into Gryffindor and not into Slytherin, my whole family stopped talking to me. They didn't seem to want to have anything to do with me. That's why I started going over to the Potter's so much, I had to get away from the silent treatment and the disappointment."

"Um Sirius," Remus looked like he was having deep thoughts as he spoke to his friend. "What if they just did not know what to say to you and thought that you did not want to talk to them anymore. What if they thought that, because you were in Gryffindor, you thought that they were all evil? That is what pretty much everyone thinks we think about the house, and they would be mostly right."

Sirius looked at his friend and blinked as he thought back to the awkward times he spent at home after coming to Hogwarts. He could not remember one time that he had searched out any of his family to talk or spend time with. All he could remember was waiting for them to come and talk to him while he sat in his room thinking that they hated him. "Remus…" Sirius whispered, looking up at his friend for answers.

"Maybe you should write home and see what happens." Remus said. "If they don't answer, at least you tried, right? I know you miss them."

Sirius winced. "I think I might try to write. We haven't said anything to each other since beginning of last summer when I went to the Potter's and just stayed. I am not even sure that they noticed that I was gone." He said sadly.

"It seems like your brother has noticed. You have spent Yule with the Potters since second year, and from what he said, the others have noticed too. He said that your Mother cried. That doesn't sound like she hates you, mate."

Their attention was pulled back to the tryouts when James was announced the chaser for their team. They congratulated him while walking back to the common room. James agreed with Remus that he should try to write to his parents once he heard about the conversation that Remus had overheard from the Slytherin table. He had seen how much it had hurt his friend to be away from his family and feel that they did not love him just because he was a Gryffindor. None of them had ever thought that maybe his family had felt the same way but in reverse. They waved at the Triplets as they passed in the hall.

The triplets smiled and nodded at the marauders as they made their way to the lake to wait for their turn at tryouts.

"I wonder what had them looking so serious." Harry wondered aloud.

"I don't know." Hermione said as she pulled a book out of her ever present bag. The trio quickly immersed themselves in books, momentarily forgetting all about the serious look they had seen on the faces of the marauders.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: I am sorry that this chapter came a bit late, I have been working a few extra shifts this week and got behind. I do hope that you guys enjoy.

Thank you for all the reviews. I will continue to try and answer any questions that you may have, so please feel free to ask away in a review or PM me. I try and respond to everyone if I can.

Special thanks to USA83 for catching a mistake in the last chapter and letting me know so that I could get that fixed. You are much appreciated!

Happy Reading!

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

{Parseltongue}

The next morning Angus was still telling everyone that would listen about the stunts Harry and Draco had pulled on their brooms while warming up for tryouts. It was clear to everyone that both brothers were skilled on brooms, and that they would be a great boon for the Hufflepuff team. Draco had made chaser and Harry had made seeker. All three siblings were amused as Angus continued to rave about the brothers which involved him waving his hands around madly for emphases.

After breakfast was over, the trio walked over to the Slytherin table, catching the attention of the students and teachers that were in the Great Hall. The Slytherins became quiet as the Peverells stopped beside Severus who began to look pensive. Harry was the first to break the silence that had spread throughout the room.

"Severus? I was wondering if you would be willing to work with me a bit on my potions essay. I am not nearly as good as Draco and noticed how Potions seemed to be a subject that came to you naturally while we were in class." Severus just stared at the trio. No one from another House had ever asked for his help before. "We were going to the library to work on our homework if you would like to join us." Severus finally snapped out of his stupor and nodded quietly while continuing to stare at the siblings.

"Oh and Bellatrix," Hermione was proud that her voice was steady and friendly while speaking to a woman that would grow up to torture her future self if history was to repeat the same as before. "I was going to ask if you wanted to join us as well. I was going to work on that Rune worksheet that we got on Thursday. It is always more pleasant to study with others, and the boys have already finished theirs."

Bellatrix was floored. "I would love to," she whispered with wide eyes. People tended to stay away from members of the black family as they were known to practice the Dark Arts and were thought to be insane. Bellatrix had gotten used to others staring at her like she was going to jump at them and burn them alive or something. Having people act like she was going to torture them at every turn really put a damper on her social life. This was a completely new experience for the girl.

Hermione grinned at the curly haired girl. "Wonderful. Homework goes so much quicker when you are not alone. Shall we meet in half an hour in the library?" Severus and Bellatrix nodded. "Wonderful. Feel free to bring others, the more the merrier." The trio nodded in unison and smiled identical smiles at the dumfounded Slytherins before walking together from the hall without even glancing at the other tables. The trio was sure that the glare they could feel on their backs came from the head table.

"What the hell?" Lucius asked from his seat beside Severus.

"I have no idea. " Severus continued to look at the empty doorway.

Bellatrix was just staring at her plate and blinking. "They didn't act like we were evil or anything."

"I don't know what to think about Hufflepuffs coming to the Slytherin table and talking to us like we are normal. It's weird" Lucius murmured and frowned at his plate. Some of the Slytherins were shocked when Lucius' mask slipped to show his emotions for a moment, as he was one of the more unflappable Slytherin seventh years.

Bellatrix sniffed. "I liked it."

At the next table, Remus sat still as a statue as he again listened to the Slytherins shatter his preconceived notions. He thought that Lucius had the right idea. _What the hell_? He seriously needed to talk to James and Sirius again.

* * *

The trio claimed the largest table in the library and set out their parchment and books. Harry pulled out his potions homework and some books he had pulled from their personal stash that they had brought from home. He was sure that they would be helpful in both homework and getting Severus to open up a bit. If there was one thing the boy loved, it was potions. Hermione did the same with her Runes homework. Draco decided that he would work on Arithmancy today and just converse with whoever showed up with Severus and Bellatrix.

Draco and Harry had done the Runes homework the night before when they got back to their rooms after tryouts; they had still been humming from too much excess energy to go to sleep and had decided to be productive. Hermione had completed everything but Runes while they were trying out. She had already seen them play and knew they would make the team so used her time wisely, on homework instead of having mini heart attacks every time they pulled a stunt just because they were barmy when on brooms. She knew that by saving her Runes homework, she would have an excuse to try and get close to Bellatrix.

Severus, Lucius, Bellatrix and Theodore joined them at their table in silence after a small bit of hesitation by the entryway. None of them had ever been invited to study outside of their house study groups and were a bit nervous to be giving this new concept a try. The four Slytherins relaxed as the trio quickly made the Slytherins feel welcome by talking about the homework and actually listening to their suggestions and theories on the assignments. Theodore was quick to pull out his Arithmancy homework when he saw that Draco was working on his.

While Severus and Harry debated about the possible substitutes for Moondew that could be used for the Draught of Living Death, a Ravenclaw stopped to listen. After a few moments she joined the table, introduced herself as Selena Abbot and asked Severus if he thought that Moondew was better for potions use if it was only collected on the full moon or at a new moon. After the Slytherin took a moment to blink at the Ravenclaw that had just boldly joined them as if it was an everyday occurrence, Severus jumped into the debate on harvesting the plant at a new moon phase instead of full moon as was more common. Harry only barely succeeded on hiding his glee at having another house join them.

The Ravenclaw settled in and had her roommate joined the table when she arrived. Amy Flower was a Muggleborn that had spent her whole seven years at Hogwarts avoiding the Slytherins. After watching Selena for a few minutes she joined the table and pulled out her Astronomy homework intending on keeping her head down and staying out of the way. After a few more minutes Lucius asked her about a constellation that he was having a hard time mapping on his own worksheet. The two were quickly working on their star charts together and had not even given thought about the other's blood status since they were so immersed in their assignments.

Draco was startled to see his father working with a Muggleborn with no problem but was extremely pleased. He squeezed Hermione's hand to make sure she saw and was happy at the smile that she gave him at the sight. _I thought it would take a lot more effort to even get him to speak to a muggleborn. We have not even talked about the Legacy Potion yet to see if the muggleborns have squibs in their trees._

* * *

AFTER BREAKFAST_THE MARAUDERS

Remus watched as the four Slytherins that were going to join the trio gathered their things and left the hall. He had been listening to them since the trio had left. Lucius and Theodore had decided to join the group to make sure that nothing happened to their fellow snakes. Remus was shocked at the unity coming from a house that he had always thought contained backstabbers and evil dark wizards. He looked at his friends and decided that they would be talking about what he had just heard as soon as they were done with breakfast.

His eyes stopped as they landed on Peter. He was not quite sure what to think about his friend. The marauders had been together since first year, but he had not realized how mean the boy could be until this year. He had always thought the boy was the more timid out of the four of them and the one that would be least likely to be vicious to others, but this year he seemed to be noticing things that he had overlooked before.

On the way down to breakfast they had seen a first year Ravenclaw trip and fall in the hallway. The little boy had cried and had to be helped to the infirmary because he had sprained his wrist when he landed on it. None of the marauders had laughed, but Remus had seen the glee in Peter's eyes as he smiled at the boy's misfortune.

Thinking back at the pranks they had pulled in the past, Remus realized that while Peter had not been able to set the pranks up, he had been there to tell them that the prank needed to be stronger or more humiliating. They were bullies, but what did that make Peter if he seemed to revel in others humiliation like that? _Maybe I won't tell Peter just yet. He was still whingeing because we did not prank any Slytherins before bed last night. I don't think he will be happy if we talk about the Slytherins without planning something._

Remus felt bad about thinking about Peter this way, but he just could not seem to figure out what was up with the boy. _Maybe I should talk to Sirius and James about Peter too."_ Remus nodded as he made his decision to talk to the others about his misgivings about their friend. He smiled at James as he sent him a questioning look from his place beside Lily. Remus mouthed 'later' to his friend and returned to his breakfast when James smiled and nodded.

As the boys got up, James asked Lily to walk with him. Lily smiled and told them that she was on her way to do homework in the library but that they were welcome to join her. Remus smiled at the redhead as Peter huffed and said that he was not doing homework today. Remus was quick to tell Lily that he would join her and sent a pointed look at Sirius, who would have normally agree with Peter to hold off on doing homework until the last minute. Sirius snapped his mouth closed and sent a questioning glance at Remus before agreeing to go to the library after James agreed.

"But we should go outside and plan some pranks. We haven't done anything fun yet this year." Peter complained to the other marauders.

"Peter, we just want to get a start on our homework so we don't get behind. If you don't want to go to the library, you don't have to." Remus hoped that the boy would leave them and do his own thing so that they could speak without him around. Sirius sent him another questioning glance since Remus was the one that normally would cave to Peter's whingeing first.

When the boys just looked at Peter as they waited for a decision, Peter scowled before storming away towards the front entrance. Both James and Sirius gave Remus looks that demanded an explanation when he gave a clear sigh of relief.

"What was that all about Moony?" James asked in confusion. Even Lily seemed to be confused at the relief that Remus was displaying from the departure of the other boy.

"I wanted to talk to you but did not want Peter around to hear it." Remus looked at the floor as he waited for the others to tell him that he was being a bad friend by trying to exclude the other boy. He was afraid that his friends would turn on him if they thought that he was trying to exclude one of their own.

Sirius tugged at the sandy haired werewolf's sleeve to get his attention. "What is going on that you want to talk without Peter listening? Has he done something?"

"That's just it. I just keep seeing him differently I guess." When the others just blinked at him he continued to try to explain. "Okay, take this morning, that little firsty, Peter seemed happy that he got hurt. Like happy happy. I have noticed a few times now that he seems to get a lot of enjoyment from seeing others hurt or humiliated. I knew that he would not react well to what I want to tell you guys and will just try to get us to bully someone instead."

James just looked at his friend who was biting his lower lip in nervousness. "Okay mate. We will be careful of what we say around him until we figure out what is going on with him. And we will all keep an eye on him, just in case. You are good at noticing stuff, Remus, and we trust you." Remus seemed to deflate as he released the breath that he had been holding.

As the group turned to make their way to the library Lily spoke from her place beside James. "So Remus, what was it that you wanted to tell us? Do you need me to let you guys talk in private for a moment? I won't mind waiting."

"No that's ok Lily. You can stay." The girl beamed at Remus for not excluding her. "Well, Sirius, you know how I kind of overheard Regulus talking about wanting you to go home?" He waited for Sirius to nod. "Well, I was kind of eavesdropping on the Slytherin table when the Peverells went over there this morning." He finished talking at a rush and blush stained his cheeks as he admitted to eavesdropping again. _It is really hard not to with my hearing though._

Sirius laughed at Remus's blush. "Okay, what did you hear this morning Moony?" He did not mind one bit that his friend was listening in on other people's conversations. It came in quite handy sometimes. Without Remus's supper hearing, he would have never had the courage to write to his family. He was still nervous, but had gathered up his Gryffindor courage and sent the letter off before joining his mates for breakfast this morning. He did not want to wait as he was scared that he would lose his nerve. Lily and James were looking at Remus with unbridled curiosity.

"Well, Harry and Hermione invited Severus and Bellatrix to the library to study." He looked over to see all three of his companions blinking at him in surprise. "But that was not the shocking part." He continued to receive blinks from the others. They came to a stop so that they could see Remus's face as he told them the not shocking part of what he heard this morning.

 _What can be more shocking than inviting Bella to study?_ Sirius was flabbergasted at the thought of someone wanting to spend time with the girl. He always thought she was a little bit crazy.

"Well, the Slytherins seemed shocked. And well, Bellatrix seemed like she was going to cry because someone was nice to her without acting scared of her. I swear that I heard her sniffing. Then Lucius and Theodore said that they would go with the other two just to make sure that they were ok. It was like they were worried that the Hufflepuffs were going to hurt them or pull something, and they wanted to protect them."

Remus looked at his companions shocked faces and knew that he was not the only one that was having a hard time believing that the Slytherins would feel that they needed protection from the other houses.

"I don't really know what to say about that." James was confused. "How can they be so different than what we expected?"

"That's just it James, what if we have been projecting our expectations on them and seeing what we were told to expect?" Remus whispered. "What if we have been wrong like we may have been with Padfoot's family?"

"What do you mean about Sirius's family?" Lily said as she tried to process Bellatrix sniffing because someone invited her to study with them.

"Well, I kind of overheard Regulus say something that may mean that Sirius's family misses him." Remus really hated having to admit to his eavesdropping habit. "We came to the conclusion that they may have just thought that he would not have wanted to have anything to do with them because he was sorted into a house that thinks, in general, that the Slytherins are all evil. We were thinking that maybe they just did not know what to say to him. He wrote to them last night."

Lily looked from one boy's face to the others. "So it is possible that they are just acting as we expect them to?" Lily thought desperately over the memories that she had of her Hogwarts years to see if the Slytherins were ever mean to her without someone egging them on first. Even when Severus had called her mudblood, he had been hanging upside down because of the marauders. He had even come to apologize to her afterwards.

James gave a small confused smile to his girlfriend. "If it possible with his family, I guess it could be true for the snake house too. What if we were wrong?" He looked so conflicted that Lily gave him a warm hug to comfort him.

"Well, there is only one way to find out." She grabbed James's hand and pulled him in the direction of the library. The other two quickly following behind the redheaded girl that was pulling their friend by the arm.

The group came to a stop just inside the doors to the library as they stood watching the three houses work together in peace. It seemed that even Madam Shoal did not mind the talking that was emanating from the table; though she was keeping a close eye on the study group for any issues that could arise.

Sirius felt like the world had turned upside down and sideways. "What the fuck?" This was just a bit much for him to handle at one time. He felt that he was trapped in some sort of potion induced dream.

Lilly reached over and smacked the back of his head while muttering, "Language," all without taking her eyes of the group that was working together without fighting. She was still reeling from what Remus had just told them.

James looked from his friends to the study group and back again. Maybe the Slytherins were not so bad if they could work with Muggleborns and other houses like that. And if it was true of a Hogwarts house, then the chances of them being correct about Sirius's family were that much higher. "Well, it seems like that is the table to study at today. What do you say?"

The marauders looked at each other indecisively then back at the table while trying to make a decision. All three of them were trying to come to grips with their conflicting thoughts about the Slytherins. They had always been told by older students and even some of their teachers that Slytherin house made people power hungry and dark.

Sirius could clearly remember the Headmaster comforting him and giving him lemon drops the day after his sorting. He had admitted to the Headmaster that he was worried about how his family would react. Now he was feeling conflicted about the mild warning he had gotten from the smiling Headmaster, to be careful at home and around his family since they would not be happy he was sorted in Gryffindor. It was the Headmaster that had suggested that he not write home until they wrote to him since it could make them even more upset at his breaking the mold. _Maybe I just misunderstood_?

"Oh come on." Lilly said while grabbing James by the sleeve again and pulling him behind her. "Hello, mind if we join you?" Lilly took a seat and pulled James into the seat beside her before anyone had a chance to protest. Sirius and Remus joined a few moments later after taking deep breaths to calm their nerves. The table was a bit tense while everyone got used to the idea of Slytherins and Gryffindors sitting at the same table and possibly working together. The addition had even managed to draw the attention of the two Ravenclaws who would not normally take time out of their studies to watch the antics of the two rival houses. Remus broke the sudden silence by addressing Severus from across the table.

"Hey, Severus…umm. Well, we have been talking, I mean, Sirius, James and I, and…well… we wanted to tell you that we were sorry about being prats to you." Remus looked up from the table as he apologized to the black haired student.

Sirius nodded. "We are sorry Snape. We have acted like complete shit to you and owe you an apology."

James also offered his apology to the stunned Slytherin. "We truly are sorry. We never really looked at our actions from your point of view and were completely out of line."

The Slytherins blinked at the marauders as the other students looked on with amazement. The trio pinched each other under the table to prevent themselves from jumping up to do happy dances.

"I accept your apology." Severus said slowly after a few minutes. "Selena, Harry and I are working on our Potions essay if you would like to work with us." The truce was offered before he could stop the words from coming out of his mouth. He was not sure how he felt about the apology but decided to see where it went. It could not possibly get worse, and if it was sincere his life would be much less stressful. _Maybe now I can talk to Lily about potions now without being hexed_.

"That would be great." Sirius and Remus both switched seats so that they were closer to those working on Potions and then quickly joined the others in the Moondew debate and began adjusting their essays as they went. Everyone else settled back into their studies and continued to converse about their chosen subjects.

Within a few hours everyone had finished their weekend homework. This surprised Sirius and James who normally waited until the last minute. They had really enjoyed working with the study group as it had made the time go by so much faster working with others. It was especially helpful to have people from other houses answer questions that they did not know.

Though they were finished with their assignments, no one made a move to leave the table since they were all still engrossed in various discussions about their extracurricular studies.

Hermione had pulled Bellatrix and Theodore into a discussion about the different theories on merging existing wards with Runes and Arithmancy. Bellatrix was fascinated at the concept since she had not found any books that had mentioned the combination before. Theodore was proud to say that he had many warding books in his family library on the subject, as his grandfather had held Masteries in Warding and Arithmancy. He offered to have them sent so that they could compare them with the books that Hermione had.

Draco was able to get James and Lily talking about their future goals outside of Hogwarts. He found out that James wanted to be an Auror like his dad and Lily wanted to get her Mastery in Charms. She hoped to one day be able to improve on existing charms and even make new ones that would help with everyday life. She also wanted to see if there was a way to charm muggle electronics so that they would work around magic.

Lucius was still talking to Amy, who had pulled out a muggle astronomy book to show to the blond boy. He was fascinated by the pictures and the information that was contained in the book. He interrogated the girl on her knowledge of muggle space exploration and was astounded to realize that muggles had made their way to the moon and sent probes to the other planets in their solar system to take pictures. Even if their pictures did not move, they were much clearer than the drawings that they used in class. Amy just watched the blond boy with bemusement as he flipped through her muggle book while muttering "amazing" to himself. She was not quite sure how to process her day. Lucius asked that Amy write her parents so that they could get more muggle astronomy books that he would gladly pay for.

Severus was arguing with Selena about experimental use of dried Chichevache skin in a potion to encourage hair growth. Remus and Sirius were desperately looking through a potions book to try and find out what the hell a Ccichevache was, only to blanch in disgust when they came across a picture of a strange looking cow that had a human face and was nothing but skin and bones. Apparently it fed on good women and had a difficult time finding women that met its requirements of 'good'. Neither of them would want to drink anything that had a piece of that creature in it.

Harry just watched the fireworks with a smile on his face. He had never seen Severus so animated. He was shocked when Severus turned to him with a fanatic look on his face.

"Peverell! Tell this crazy girl that Chichevache skin would most likely cause her potion to become toxic!" Severus was looking at the boy as though daring him to disagree.

"I have not studied the ingredient, but I do believe that I have read that the skin is toxic even before it is dried. I am not sure what would be able to counter the toxicity." Harry was relieved to see that Severus was placated by his vague answer.

Severus and Selena quickly began to debate again until Sirius interrupted them to let them know that it was time for Dinner and he was hungry. They had spent all day in the library.

The group decided that they would all be fine with continuing to study together on Saturdays and would try to study some in the library on the weekdays after classes or in free periods. The group examined each other's schedules and tried to make note of the best times for weekday studies before they made plans to meet the next weekend to complete all their unfinished homework for the week. After plans had been agreed upon, the group dispersed. Everyone made their way to the Great Hall for dinner after quick stops at their common rooms to drop off their bags.

At dinner the Hufflepuffs and some other students were amused to see a role reversal with the triplets. Draco was immersed in a book and Hermione would poke him from her normal position in the middle of the two brothers to remind him to eat. Viddy had happily collected their copy of the Hogwarts Charter before they went down to dinner and Draco was busy making notes and plots for the others to go over. Harry and Hermione cheerfully ate their dinners and chatted while their brother read.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Thank you for all the reviews. I was not able to send many PMs this week as I have been having computer problems.I have tried to answer as many questions as I could through my phone, but I am sure that I missed responding to someone as there were so many wonderful reviews. If you asked a question that I have not answered and that is not explained in this chapter, please ask again, or ask away if you have new questions for me. I am no longer having computer issues and will be trying to respond to everyone like normal.

Special thanks to bloodshound and redfox-9 for pointing out some mistakes. You guys are really appreciated!

bond cyfarwydd is Welsh for familiar bond according to google translate.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

{Parseltongue}

The Hufflepuffs woke on Sunday morning to find the trio already awake and dressed in the common room. They had piles of paper that they were sorting through while making lists. No one in the house wanted to bother the siblings as they worked, but everyone was curious as to what they had to do that involved so much paperwork. The trio's privacy was insured by their speaking in Parseltongue. With the clear indication that they did not want anyone to overhear, the Hufflepuffs left them to their own devices.

Charon was draped across Harry's shoulders as he worked. The snake had wrapped himself around his human so that he could rest his head in the hair on top of Harry's head. All of the Hufflepuffs were now used to seeing the great big snake on one of the trio while they were in the common room and were not bothered.

As the common room filled, the trio began to pack away the papers. The students were startled when an elf popped into the room to take the box from the trio. Harry scratched Charon's head as the trio began to head out with the other Hufflepuffs to breakfast.

As they walked, a few of the Hufflepuffs would catch up to the trio so that they could greet Charon and give his head a scratch. They finally began to meet other students in the hall at the entrance to the dungeons, where a few Slytherins were exiting into the Entry Hall.

"Is that a snake?" Lucius was staring after the trio with amazement.

"It is." Severus was startled but still maintained his slow drawl.

"That thing is huge." Severus nodded at his friends comment before pulling him into the Great Hall so that they would be able to see the trio from their seats. Already the students of the great hall were standing from their seats to get a good look at the snake wrapped around one of the Peverell.

The trio hid their grins at the attention. They had purposefully waited until the rest of their house was up before heading to breakfast so that there would be plenty of people in the great hall. They wanted to see the expressions on everyone's faces as they got a glimpse of actual people speaking to a snake. They also wanted to see what Dumbledore would say. There was a big hope that he would completely make a fool of himself as he tried to look like a concerned parent to the trio.

At the teacher's table, Dumbledore was already looking in their direction with a twinkle in his eye.

As the trio sat at their table with Hermione between the boys as usual, Charon slithered around so that he was draped across both Harry and Hermione's shoulders. Hermione would hold up a piece of sausage that the snake would take from her hand without causing harm with his very long fangs that were clearly visible to those that were looking in their direction.

{How long do you think before Dumbledore heads over here to tell us that we can't have a snake at the school?} Draco smirked as he heard the whispers start at the Ravenclaw table.

Hermione offered up another piece of sausage. {Only another five minutes or so. He looks like he is about to have a hippogriff.} Sure enough, as soon as Draco had spoken in Parseltongue he had paled dramatically. The trio rolled their eyes at the false concern that the Headmaster was trying to convey.

Harry sipped at a cup of tea as he chatted with his siblings. {Is it too much to hope for that he trips on the stairs and breaks his neck. I thought those damn laws could not get any worse and that one that prevented abused muggle raised to be taken from their families really irks my last nerve. I would really like to make him suffer right now. What kind of monster arranges it so that it is illegal to take abused children from their abusers?} He picked up his fork as he stabbed angrily at his eggs wishing that it was the Headmaster that he had on his plate.

{Ugh. I know. That one was horrible.} Hermione winced as she looked around the table for more sausages. Charon could eat quite a bit and had finished the plate that they had near them. Angus smiled and passed that plate that he had near his own plate. Charon happily took the next piece of sausage from the girl's fingers.

{That one was one of the worst ones that we have come across. I cannot believe that he had managed to get that passed. Or the one that had the children and their parents from being told about magic at the first accidental magic shown. I have no idea why they are waiting to tell them about magic until they are eleven when they used to tell the families so much earlier.} Draco watched as the whispers in the hall increased.

{The only reason for the asshole to do so is so that the muggleborns have no knowledge of their heritage. He is doing the same thing that he did to me. He wants them to see him as some great icon of good, and they do because school is the first real interaction that they have with our world and they see him sitting on his great big throne with his twinkly eyes and he molds them into sheep before they ever leave these halls.} Harry's hissing did little to hid the fact that he was irritated. {If the muggleborns are brought into the magical world before they go to school, they would have time to learn traditions and about our society instead of having to believe everything they hear at this school that has watered down knowledge so as to keep them in the dark.}

{We should try to get someone interested in the Legacy Potion as soon as we can. Both Lily and Amy may be willing since they were willing to study with us yesterday. I wonder if we can pull the same group into another conversation to get the ball rolling.} Hermione hummed at the boys as the Headmaster finally stood to make his way to the trio.

{Damn it, he didn't trip.} Harry grumbled.

"Ah, what a lovely snake you have there. " The Great Hall was silent as everyone tried to listen in to the conversation happening at the Hufflepuff table. "I am very sorry to have to tell you that snakes are not allowed as pets here at Hogwarts. We only allow cats, owls and toads. The snake will have to go." He twinkled at the three students before him. _So they can speak to snakes. This will have to be stopped or people will begin to think that the ability is not dark. Maybe I can speak to a few students and tell them something that will encourage them to think these students have dark leanings. Although, it will be difficult to get anyone to believe three week Hufflepuffs are going dark._ Dumbledore continued to muse about his problem as the trio calmly wiped their mouths before speaking.

"Headmaster, while cats, toads and owls are on the suggested list for Hogwarts, they are by no means the only pets allowed in the school. According to the Hogwarts Charter, any non-dangerous animal may be brought to the school as a pet as long as it is kept under control." Hermione spoke quietly but calmly. Her voice carried to all the tables, causing whispers to break out from the information that she provided.

The Headmaster frowned at the girl before him as his eyes became flat. He had heard the whispers behind him as the girl tried to outwit him. "Be that as it may, Miss Peverell, that snake is clearly venomous and cannot stay as it is, as you say, dangerous, and so cannot be in the castle."

Draco smirked from his place beside Hermione. "Actually Headmaster, as we are clearly able to speak Parseltongue, the snake poses no danger as it can understand instructions." The Headmaster opened his mouth to speak, but Draco continued in his same calm voice that carried just as well as Hermione's. "Furthermore, Charon here is Harry's bonded familiar. It is illegal for any witch or wizard to attempt to separate the two of them and Charon is allowed into any wizarding establishment. There is nothing that can be done to separate them."

Dumbledore stared at the trio in front of him as he tried to get his anger under control. _How dare they speak to me this way? I have never been spoken to with such disrespect. And where did they find a copy of the charter? I have taken all of the copies from the library and have blocked them from being sold to the public. The information within the charter is too dangerous to be available to the general public. They must have had a copy in their family library. I must be allowed to see what else they have available in that library._

While he was thinking about getting access their possessions and reassuring himself of his own greatness, the trio sat calmly as they waited for the next thing the Headmaster would say. Already they could hear other students asking about the charter and if it was true that they could have brought their familiars to school with them or other non-dangerous pets.

Dumbledore suddenly smiled his grandfatherly smile at the trio. "You are quite right, of course. I had forgotten that bonded familiars were to be allowed into the school. It is not something that you see every day you see. Some even think that having a bonded Familiar is a sign of darkness as it very rare to see such a thing. No one remembers what must be done to get a familiar to bond with them."

A few purebloods in the room frowned as the Headmaster spoke. There was nothing remotely dark about bonding with a familiar. If the bond was not formed naturally, there was a potion that could be given to the animal and a spell that would initiate the bond, but neither were dark in nature, it was just a very old practice that few remembered since the books that explained the process were only available in old family libraries.

Harry tried his best to keep his face clear of the anger that he was feeling towards the fool standing in front of him. "I am not sure who would think such a thing Headmaster. My bond with Charon is natural, but even if I had bonded with him through the Bond Cyfarwydd potion and spell, it would not be dark. It would not even be classified is off white. To try and say that a familiar bond is dark is to say that being a witch or wizard is evil. It was not that long ago that the Ministry of Magic encouraged all witches and wizards to bond with a familiar as it helps to stabilize wild magic when you get emotional. Are you not bonded with your phoenix?"

The room was silent as everyone waited quietly to hear what the Headmaster would say in response to Harry. Dumbledore was seething as he tried desperately to control his anger. It would not be wise to lash out at the upstarts here in the Great Hall where he could be seen.

"I am intended bonded to my phoenix. I was simply expressing a common mentality among the populous. I meant no cause you to think that I believe it to be a bad thing. Please make sure that you keep the snake under control so that there will be no issues. I would hate to have to interfere with a bond." There was a sharp intake of breath from some of the students in the hall that heard the last comment that the Headmaster had said. He paled slightly as he realized that he had just publicly threatened a bonded familiar of one of his students, and some of the students from old families would not forget the mistake he just made. A threat was just as frowned upon as actually interfering with a bond. _I will just have to make a law to assure that bonded familiars are no longer allowed in the school._ He nodded to himself as he made his way out of the hall instead of making his way back to the Head Table to finish his breakfast. He had to draft a new law to present at the first Wizengamot meeting for this year.

The volume increased in the Great Hall as the students began to talk about the possibility of bonding with their pets. The muggleborns were looking for the pureblood friends that could tell them about the potion and spell. As the trio stood to make their way out of the Great Hall, they met with the Slytherins at the door. Bellatrix was fascinated with Charon.

"May I pet him? He is such a pretty snake." Bellatrix did not even hesitate to ask to pet the familiar of one of the trio. They had not made her feel like she was abnormal at all yet and she was over the moon when Hermione smiled and pulled Charon onto her shoulders so that she could step closer to the black haired girl that cooed at the snake as she scratched his head. Charon preened under the attention.

Lucius moved closer to Draco so that he could speak quietly. "I was amazed to hear you three speaking to your snake. It was interesting to hear it with my own ears. I had heard the rumors of course but to hear you speak the snake language was absolutely fascinating." Draco nodded to the other blond boy and smiled as he was distracted by a girl grabbing his arm.

"Lucius?" Amy Flower looked up at the blond that she had spent hours the day before with as they studied and talked about astronomy. Eyes around the Great Hall widened as the blood smiled at the brown haired muggleborn that was holding onto his arm without sneering or making one derogatory comment.

"Yes Amy?" A few mouths dropped open as they heard Lucius speak nicely to a muggleborn who he was apparently on a first name basis with. The Marauders joined the group at the door and the slowly made their way outside so that they could sit comfortably under a tree. A few students followed behind to watch the four houses walk together. Lucius had pulled Amy's hand through his arm as he escorted her so that he could hear clearly what she had to say.

"I was wondering if we could make a trade. You want to have some muggle Astronomy books, and I would like to bond with my cat, Mittens. Would you be willing to trade information on bonding with the books instead of paying for them? I have looked for information on bonding and familiars before and there is none available."

"That is a positively Slytherin suggestion Miss Amy. I would be pleased to offer you information on bonding. And if you will get me five of those astronomy books, I will help you brew the potion and cast the spell on Mittens." The group smiled as Amy squealed and settled on the blanket that Hermione had conjured.

The group sat in a circle around the blanket with Charon in the center. Charon would slither around to each person and allow them the pleasure of scratching his head before heading back towards Harry. Peter was the only marauder that was not present as he had stayed in bed through breakfast.

Lily spoke up after petting the large snake that seemed to adore having attention focused on him. "Why are there no books available on bonding with a familiar? I heard Amy say that she had looked for them before and not found any. I probably would have been looking for books on the subject if I had not overheard her say that she couldn't find any."

Surprisingly it was Sirius that spoke up. "I remember when I was having lessons before coming to Hogwarts, Father said that it was pretty common when he was in school. Most students had a bonded familiar and he would help either Regulus or I bond to an animal if we wanted to. I wanted a puppy, but thought that they were not allowed so I declined." He picked a string lose from the blanket as he stared at his hands. "I don't know why the books are not available though."

"That is so strange. Who would take the books on familiars away?" Amy murmured.

Theodore had been quiet for the most part while studying as he observed how his friends would be treated. He decided that they would probably listen to him instead of thinking that he was just a slimy snake that wanted to turn them all dark. "It was probably Dumbledore."

His comment caused the group to turn their eyes on him and go silent.

"What makes you think it was Professor Dumbledore?" Remus asked the boy beside him.

"Well, he became headmaster only a few years after our parents were out of school." He gestured at the other purebloods in the group. "I know my father has been complaining about the rules and classes that have changes since he was in school. Dumbledore would have been the only one that would have been able to make such drastic changes." He took a deep breath. "Also, he became Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot about the same time. And the laws that have been passing have been a source of many rants from Father."

Lucius and Bellatrix nodded.

"The laws that he is getting passed are supposed to make things better though, at least for those that are muggleborn." Amy said with a small frown on her face.

Before any of the Slytherins could comment, Draco spoke up. "Actually, Amy, some of those laws are absolute dangerous for the so called muggleborns. When I became Head of our family I had to have the Ministry send information on laws that had been passed using my vote. We are going through them and will be having the laws revisited as most of them are the most awful things that I have ever read. It is mind boggling on how they even managed to get passed in the first place."

"Please keep this to yourselves as we don't want it known that the Wizengamot will have to do a review of laws passed recently. We want to keep it secret until the first meeting that Draco will attend." The group nodded at the girls sweetly asked question.

"What kind of laws are you protesting?" James asked with a frown. He was aware that his father had been voting the Peverell seat at Dumbledore's behest. He had overheard a few conversations but had not paid his father much mind when he was speaking about politics. Nothing he could remember was bad though.

Harry scowled up at the sky as he rested back on his elbows. "Everything looks great on the surface of the laws that we have reviewed. But most of them, when you actually read them, are not something we would want our name attached to. One we saw this morning prevented those wizards and witches that are abused in the muggle world from being brought into the wizarding world to a family that could understand them and care for them. While a lot of families are able to adapt to having a witch or wizard in their families, a lot of them cant. There are a lot of children that are picked on and outright abused by their families because they are different and they think that they are freaks."

The Gryffindors and Ravenclaws looked horrified as Harry described the law. The Slytherins were familiar as it was one of the more recent laws and their parents had had many conversations about the outrageous laws that the 'light' was passing.

Hermione continued when Harry stopped talking. Talking about abused children was a sore spot with all three of them, but was more difficult for Harry to talk about. "That law was an extension of a law that was enacted a few decades before that prevented anyone of wizarding origin approaching a family in the muggle world to explain what was going on when their child began to show magic. That law was reaffirmed at the same time as the law preventing the removal of abused children from the muggle world. Supposed muggleborns would have a much better time adjusting to our traditions and society if they knew that they were normal and that there were others like them much earlier in their lives. They would not be thrown into a society with no idea what to expect."

Everyone nodded. Lily was thinking about her sister who would not speak to her when she was home unless it was to call her a Freak. Amy was also thinking about her parents. They barley tolerated her presences and made her attend church every time she went home so that she would have a chance to 'atone for her evil.' Both girls could see the harm that such a law would cause.

"I never knew that laws like that were being passed. I have never read about those in the Daily Prophet. They are always talking about the evils of the laws that would be passed by the darker families and how we should be grateful to have Dumbledore leading the light so that great laws could be passed." Remus looked confused as the new information.

"A lot of those laws are pure shit covered in some kind of sticky sweet candy to hide the rot." Bellatrix muttered from her side of the blanket. The group stayed quiet as the Gryffindors and the Ravenclaws processed the new information that they had received that morning. Bellatrix suddenly sat up straight and scrunched up her nose. "What do you mean by 'Supposed Muggleborn'? You guys have said that twice now." Everyone shot their eyes from the black haired girl to the trio.

Draco smiled. _Seriously, I thought this was going to be so much more difficult._ "We mean just that Miss. Black. It is doubtful that they are any 'muggleborn' witches or wizards at all." Draco smirked at the blinks that he received from around the blanket. Harry and Hermione were able to hide their amusement behind coughs and their hands.

Lily was confused. "What do you mean? I am muggleborn."

Hermione smiled sweetly at the girl that was on Draco's other side. "What he means, Lily, is where does your magic come from?" At the confused expression from the redheaded girl Hermione continued. "Magic does not just appear from thin air. It comes from somewhere."

"What do you mean?" Severus was not the only Slytherin that had a frown on his face.

Harry sat up straight and looked across the blanket. Lucius, what happens when a pureblood family has a child that is a squib?"

The purebloods all blushed at the blunt question as Lucius answered. "They are normally cast from the family and left to live in the muggle world."

"Hn. And squibs are people that have magic but are unable to access that magic for some reason right?"

Theo spoke up. "That's correct. They are unable to do magic, so they are sent to the muggle world so that they may fit in better."

Harry smiled. "And what happens when a squib has a baby?" The purebloods just blinked at the trio that was looking at them with identical smiles.

Bellatrix paled. "Magic has to come from somewhere." She whispered. The smiles that the trio wore grew at the whispered words from one of the most prejudiced people from their original timeline.

Amy was still confused. "So, my parents may be squibs?"

Draco nodded. "Probably at least one if not both. Magic is passed down. It does not appear. Somewhere along your family tree, someone was born a squib, as magic calls to magic; they probably would have been attracted to someone else that had magic, even if it was not usable. The magic is then passed down until the block on the magic is removed, resulting in what became known as muggleborn." Draco looked around at the wide eyes of those that were on the blanket. Apparently they had never thought about the origin of magic. _Thank Merlin we can see auras or we would have never figured this out._ "Therefore, no muggleborns. There would just be those born of squibs in the muggle world."

Lily was excited. "Is there a way that we can find out? I have never even heard this theory and would love to know if it is true." Petunia would be livid if she had magic but just could not access it. It may be a bit vindictive but the thought warmed Lily from the inside out.

Before the trio could answer her question, Severus, who had stayed quiet, spoke up. "Well, there is the Legacy Potion. It is classified as a bit dark," He continued quickly when he saw frowns from the Gryffindor side of the blanket. "but the only reason for that is that you have to have three drops of the blood from the person that wants to know their legacy. Anything with blood is deemed dark by the Ministry."

"I am sure that we have all the ingredients for it." Hermione said with a look at the two muggleborn on the blanket. "That is, if you want to know if we are right."

The two girls nodded and turned pleading eyes to Severus, who blinked at the looks the two girls were giving him. Bellatrix nudged him with her elbow and nodded her head in their direction when he looked her way.

With a sigh he spoke. "I suppose that I can make the potion for you."

With another squeal, Amy leaned across Selena to hug the startled boy. Apparently she was over her shyness around Slytherins. The group continued to talk about their plans for making the Legacy Potion and also making the potion to bond Amy's cat at the same time through the lunch period. The Slytherins offered ingredients so that there would be enough for both girls to be tested. They were just as excited as the others to find out the results.

The group never noticed when the Headmaster stepped out of the castle to stand on the front steps looking down at them. The glare aimed their way had no impact on their plans.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: I am sorry that this chapter took so long to post. I have had a crazy last few weeks with a fair bit of overtime at work and got behind on my writing. I was trying to get this chapter posted this weekend, but then had to deal with a death in the family. I do want to say that I am very sorry for those of you that I assured that it was coming over the weekend. I do not like to go back on my word and will try to keep my postings more timely.

To my reviewers- Thank you so much for the reviews. I love to see what you guys think and appreciate each and every one. I was shocked to see that I had over 520 followers and over 320 favs on this story. You guys are awesome and I am amazed at the support that this story has received. Each notice that I get about a follow, fave or review makes me smile. I hope that you guys continue to ask any questions that you may have. I will continue to try and answer through PM.

I also want to say thanks for the reviews and PMs that I received that were in response to a negative review that I had received. I had a lot of you that wanted to make sure that I did not take the harsh words to heart and keep writing. I was very touched that you guys took the time to tell me that you enjoyed the story and that I should ignore the negative review. I assure you guys that I will not stop this story just because someone does not like it. I have had many more positive reviews than negative and know that there are a lot of people that are reading this story. That one negative review was nothing compared to the overwhelming support that everyone has shown this story.

Happy Reading

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

{Parseltongue}

The next week of class passed fairly quickly for the students. The teachers were quick to assign long and tedious essays for the seventh years. The older years from all houses could be seen scurrying through the school with their bags stuffed and frazzled looks on their faces as they tried to make plans to get all of their assignments finished. Everyone knew that NEWT year was going to be hell.

Students quickly settled into a routine of study and many of the students found themselves in the library during the second week of school so that they would have a quiet place to study. One particular table in the library caused many students to stop in shock.

The longest table continued to be claimed by the study group from the weekend, and periodically different students could be seen studying and talking about their assignments.

This was the only table that the librarian seemed inclined to allow to speak at all while studying. For the first time since they had been at Hogwarts, students saw Madam Shoal walk over to a table and offer advice on book selection rather than telling the students to be quiet or leave. Madam Shoal was thrilled to see such a large group of different houses bonding over books.

By the end of the second week of the term the group had only been getting a glance here and there. Most of the looks that the group was getting by Friday were look from students contemplating the ability for the houses to mix. Most everyone figured that the trio was just the type of people that could be friends with anyone, and it was alright since they had no idea that different houses should not mix. They were new, so it could be overlooked that they apparently did not care what house someone was from. If the trio could have friends from other houses, friends that consisted of all social classes, why could the other students not do the same?

A few tables would have a Ravenclaw and Slytherin sitting in silence. A Hufflepuff would sit with a Gryffindor while blushing madly. They would stay quiet, but were amazed that they were at the same table and nothing was said. Just simply sharing a table with another house while studying was a major step for the students and had Madam Shoal smiling as she checked books out to the students; it was the second week of class and she had not had to kick one student out of the library yet.

On Friday evening after dinner, the table in the middle of the library was completely filled with all thirteen students for the first time in the week. During their free periods they had managed to study in smaller groups, but this was the first time that everyone was out of class at the same time.

The group was slowly but surely beginning to break away from their housemates as they sat beside each other. Lily and Amy were particularly excited as the group settled in and pulled out their books.

"Sev, were you able to brew that Legacy potion that we were talking about last weekend?" James smiled at the bouncy redhead that was sitting beside him.

Severus nodded at the two muggleborns that were sitting across the table from him. "I did. It took nine hours of brewing, but I was able to get it done since Draco and his siblings had all the ingredients. Some of the ingredients are not normally used in potions. I was surprised that we did not have to order some." Severus looked at the trio with an inquiring look. "I did not even know that they carried Fireweed and Sumac Petals. They are quite hard to find."

Hermione smiled at the boy. "Oh, we believe in having too much of something instead of not enough. If we see it and don't already have it, we will go ahead and stock up. We have a fairly large potion ingredients supply as Draco loves to just mess around with them and see what he can come up with. You are more than welcome to help yourself if we have something you need." The two boys nodded from either side of their sister while Severus just looked at them with wide eyes.

"I would like that. I like to experiment with potions and would love to see what you have come up with, that is if you don't mind."

Draco was thrilled at Severus's question. He had answered questions when asked, but this was the first time that he had ever heard Severus ask for something for himself in either timeline. "That would be great. Hermione and Harry never seem to want to just see what can come from experimenting with ingredients." The rest of the table just shook their heads at the potion nuts.

"So, this potion?" Amy asked, trying to get the boys back on topic.

Severus turned his attention back to the subject at hand. "Oh yes. I have enough for about ten people to find out their heritage and see their family tree. There will be seven extra after Amy, Lily and I take the potion.

James shot a confused look over the table. "You will be using the potion? I thought you knew your ancestry. Isn't your mother a witch?"

The Slytherins tensed for a moment while they observed the Gryffindors for any sign of malice, but relaxed when they saw that James was simply curious.

"As far as I know my father is a muggle, and yes, my mother is a witch, but she does not talk about her family much since they would not talk to her after she married my father. Personally, I think she should have listened to whatever they said to her about my father. He is truly an awful person." Severus did not bother to hide the anger that he felt towards his father, causing the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors to raise their brows at the information that the stoic boy shared. Severus quickly pulled up a mask as he realized what he had said. He expected the marauders to say something nasty but was surprised at the sympathetic looks that he received instead of the usual vitriol.

"We need somewhere out of the way to take the potion as we have to provide blood for it to work, and we cannot be seen by the teachers since it is classified as a darker potion due to the blood." Hermione looked expectantly at the others at the table and winked at Severus when he shot her a relieved look for changing the subject.

"Well." Bellatrix paused as she gained the attention of the other twelve students. "There are a lot of unused rooms in the dungeons. No one ever bothers to go into Slytherin territory, and if we are seen with the potion, the Slytherins will not say anything."

Theo nodded. "It would probably be a good place. We have used the rooms before to practice practical spell work before, and have never been bothered by anyone except the occasional Slytherin." He looked at the group along with the other Slytherins. _They probably will not want to go into Slytherin territory._

Remus was staring at the Slytherins incredibly causing them to tense up again. They were surprised when he blurted out his question. "You guys are using the abandoned classrooms to practice in? That is such a good idea! Why have we not done this?" The sandy haired boy looked at Sirius as if his world had ended.

"It's alright Moony. We will start practicing in all the unused rooms that you can find, and look, Severus and Theo and Bella and Lucius already have good practicing space. You can practice all you want." The Slytherins did not know whether to laugh or be scared as the Black heir calmed the other boy down. They were supplied that he was only upset to have missed out on a great way to study.

"Sure Lupin, you can use the rooms down there, that's why I brought them up." Bellatrix was blinded by the relieved and happy grin that she received in return.

"Well that's that then." Sirius said once he was sure that his friend was calm again. "We should do it after breakfast. That way we can see if you guys have magical ancestors. Then we can finish up homework afterwards."

Lily and Amy were both nodding. "I think that would be best. I don't know about Amy here, but I will not be able to concentrate on homework until we do this. I am so excited." Lily leaned into James as she spoke and smiled at him when he pulled her closer with an arm around her shoulders.

Lucius stood and began to gather his belongings together as it was almost curfew. "So then we will meet after breakfast and we pick a room together." Everyone nodded as they followed Lucius's example and packed up and headed for bed.

The trio walked silently through the halls after they had split from the Slytherins at the entrance to the dungeons. They were thrilled that they would be testing their theory so quickly. Hermione absently twirled a strand of hair as she thought about the thirteen families that were originally a part of the Traditional Wizengamot. _Even if Lily and Amy do not have one of the thirteen in their lineage, we already know that Severus was the heir to the Prince line and that will be reviled. With his line we would have four of the nine needed in our study group. Five if we count Harry, but he won't take over the Slytherin line until we deal with Riddle. The Longbottoms and Bones are still around, so that is six (or seven counting Harry) of the nine right there. If there are just three more of the thirteen found, then once Riddle is taken care of, we will have our nine families. Most likely we will find a Dedworth, Bailiwick, or Trimble heir, but it would be a long shot to find another heir to one of the founders._

Hermione was literately pulled from her thoughts as her brothers pulled her into the common room and pointed her body in the direction of her dorm. She smiled at her bothers as she said goodnight. _I don't know what I would do without those two._

The trio walked into a full Great Hall the next morning for breakfast. Each of the house tables were full of students still half asleep as they loaded their plates and prepared for their weekend.

"I am surprised that there are that many awake this morning. It is only eight." Harry looked around without showing his surprise.

"I think I heard some of the students talking about Ravenclaw having practice and some of the other houses said that they would help the younger years learn to ride a broom during their practice. I don't know about the other houses though." Hermione hummed under her breath as she contemplated the students that had managed to wake up on a Saturday.

"I guess everyone has not been worn out from classwork and homework yet. Give it time and the Great hall will be empty on the weekends this early." Harry and Hermione nodded at Draco as they began to fill their plates with fruit and pancakes. They each nodded in greeting when they would meet the eyes of one of their study group at another table.

When the owls few into the Great Hall they paid no attention until a loud screech was heard. All eyes in the Great Hall watched as a large black bird flew towards the Gryffindor table. Regulus watched as his family falcon dropped a letter in his pale faced brother's plate before flying back out of the hall.

"What is going on? Mother and Father have not written to Sirius in…well…ever." Regulus looked at his cousins to see if they knew what was going on. He looked back at Sirius when they had no answer for him. Sirius was looking at the letter as if it was going to jump up and bite him at any moment. The Blacks watched as Sirius nodded at something that James said and placed the envelope in his pocket without opening it.

The trio watched with narrowed eyes as the Headmaster also watched Sirius receive his letter.

"Why is the old fool looking at Sirius like that?" Harry whispered.

Draco leaned in so that he would not be overheard. "I am not sure, but I hate when he starts twinkling like that. He must know who the letter is from."

"Well, it is none of his business who is sending letters to Sirius." {Should we keep an eye out to see if he tries to mess with any of the marauders? They were pretty far into his pocket in the other timeline.} Hermione switched into Parseltongue as she began to talk about the other timeline.

Harry nodded. {We should. None of them would do anything without checking with him before and that had to start somewhere. How much do you want to bet that his favoritism with them when they get into trouble has been to make sure that they feel like he is someone that they can always count on to fix their troubles.}

{You have a point.} Draco was still looking towards the head table as he thought about what he knew of the history of the marauders and some of what Severus had let slip when he had a few to many firewhiskeys. {I think that he did that to Severus when he left school and that is how he got him to spy for him. He is even better at getting people to do what he wants than Riddle.}

{Speaking of Riddle. When do you want to let people know that he is a Halfblood?} Harry looked over at Draco.

{Not yet. I want our group to be a bit closer and maybe see how they react to the fact that Amy and Lily will probably have pureblood squibs in their ancestry first.} Draco looked at his siblings as he explained his reasoning. {If we just burst out with the fact that he is a halfblood with daddy issues right after proving that there is no such thing as muggleborns, they may be less likely to have an issue with his blood status. We will have to put the focus on his other political platforms and show that he is bat shit crazy. For instance, I know that he was telling families that they should kill squibs at birth and not even bother sending them into the muggle world. And the fact that he wants to kill all the muggles and the 'muggleborn' will upset the families if they know that they are missing magicals from the old families. They will not take well to that when they realize that the so called muggleborns are distant family. Family is everything if you can do magic, and I have no doubt that there will be a lot of change with just this step. We should probably wait until someone brings him up, and then point out that he is halfblood and the issues with his policies.}

Harry and Hermione nodded and returned to their breakfast while ignoring the curious glances from those around them that they had gained from their extensive hissed conversation. All three were aware that they had managed to get the Headmaster's attention to turn from Sirius to them. There was nary a twinkle as he watched the three Hufflepuffs hiss to each other.

The Gryffindor table was always the loudest, no matter what time of day. The marauders were sitting towards the front of the hall with Lily sitting beside James. She was quietly talking to a girl with a round face and brown hair named Alice. James and Sirius were talking to Remus about an essay that they were planning on working on later for DADA while Peter piled food onto his plate. All three tried to ignore the way he shoveled his food into his mouth.

Conversation paused as Sirius paled while looking at a large back bird that screeched its way into the Hall. He picked up the letter that was dropped onto his plate and just stared at it. His parents had written back.

"Wha…at…hen?" James scrunched his nose in disgust as he watched food spray out of Peter's mouth as he spoke.

"Don't talk with your mouth full Pete, we didn't understand what you said." Remus said with a sigh.

After he rolled his eyes and swallowed his current mouthful, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "I said, what's that then?" He said as he pointed at the letter that Sirius was still holding.

Since Sirius looked as though the letter was going to blow up at any moment, James leaned in closer so that he could whisper to his best friend. "Hey, why don't you put it in your pocket and we will read it when we aren't in the Great Hall. If they wrote back, that is a good thing. I am sure it will be alright."

Sirius nodded and put the letter into his pocket. He looked up at Peter when he repeated his earlier question. "I wrote a letter to my mother and father. It seems like they wrote back."

"What did you write those dirty bastards for?" Peter said while shoveling another spoonful of food into his mouth.

Remus, Sirius and James just stared at the boy in disbelief. Even Lily looked at the pudgy boy through narrowed eyes at his comment.

Sirius finally found his voice. "I wanted to see if they would be willing to talk to me."

"You are better off without them. Why don't you let me burn that letter for you Padfoot?" Peter did not seem to notice how uncomfortable he was making his friends.

"No. I think I will just read it later." Sirius said with a touch of anger to his voice. _Peter has made comments like this before about Regulus. How have I missed this?_

Peter just shrugged and continued to eat. "What should we do today? We can prank a little firsty. That would be fun." He again did not seem to notice the irritated looks that he received from the rest of the marauders.

"Actually Pete, we are planning to do some studying and get all of our homework done." James was unsure of what to think about the other boy, but he agreed with Remus that he seemed to be a lot more malicious than he had ever realized. _Why are we even friends with him? Do we only hang out with him because he is our dorm mate? Surely he has not always been so…so…idiotic._

"Why do you want to study? It's the weekend. We should be having fun." Peter looked at his friends in horror at the thought of spending his free time working on homework.

"We planned to do this today all week. Sorry Pete. We just want to stay ahead of our homework so that we don't get behind." Sirius really did not want to be around the boy after his comment about his family. _Even if they don't want to have anything to do with me he has no right to talk about them like that. He is the little bastard. He better not say anything else or I am going to hex his face off. Oh Merlin, they wrote back. I don't want to open it._ Sirius slipped a hand into his pocket to finger the crest on the envelope that represented his family. It had taken every little bit of Gryffindor bravery to send the letter where he had poured out his soul to his parents.

Peter made a face. "Well, don't think I am going to spend my weekend doing homework. I want to have some fun and want to prank someone." He looked at the others angrily thinking that they would change their minds and join him in tormenting someone with a great prank.

"You do that Pete. Have fun and we will try to catch up to you when we are done." Remus said without meaning it. He was getting very tired of the other boy. Peter huffed and began to stuff his face again.

Peter was the first to leave the table as the others were waiting until they saw the others in their study group finish eating. Once everyone was finished they made their way out of the hall and met the others at the Slytherin entrance to the dungeons. The Hufflepuff entrance was towards the rear of the castle while the Slytherin entrance was closer to the Great Hall.

"Ready? I think that we have the perfect room. It is down a corridor that has no used room so hardly anyone ever goes that far." Bellatrix seemed to be excited to see what would happen with the Legacy potion. "I had some larger pieces of parchment that I use when I paint. I thought they may be helpful for the trees since they tend to be quite large." She held up some large rolls of parchment.

"Oh you paint?" Lily stepped up beside Bellatrix as she led them into the dungeon, never giving a thought to the fact that she was following a Slytherin into an abandoned part of the castle. "What type of painting do you do? Landscape or portrait?"

The rest of the group followed the two chatting females and listened to their conversation with interest.

"I like to do a bit of everything. I have done a few portraits but they are difficult. Landscapes are easier but don't have as much character and are not as challenging. I would love to do a portrait that is good enough to have someone infuse with their magic to animate it. They have to be practically perfect though."

"That is an extremely difficult thing to do. I would love to see your work." Selena said as she and Amy worked their way closer to the other two girls. Hermione was right behind them with Draco and Harry on either side of her. They continued to chat about the process for creating magical pictures and Bellatrix offered to show them some of her paintings much to the other girl's pleasure. The boys just followed along after the girls.

When they finally entered the room that Bellatrix had led them to, everyone was expecting the room to be dark and dreary since they were two levels below even the Slytherin dorm. The room was large and clear of dust with a few old couches and arm chairs sitting in the corner. The biggest surprise in the room though, was the full length windows that stretched across the wall across from the door, leaving the room as bright as any found in the towers.

"Oh my." Amy whispered as she moved to the windows. The rest of the group followed close behind. Even the other Slytherins were surprised at the room. The Slytherin dorm windows showed scenery from under the Black Lake.

"I've come here to paint a few times. The windows open from the cliff side. You can't see them from outside though, unless you know where to look. They are well hidden. I found it in second year." Bellatrix was smiling at the awed look the others had from seeing her favorite room in the castle. _I was right. It was worth it to show them my special place._

She waved her wand and moved some of the furniture closer to the middle of the room and pulled her easel out so that they would have some where to place the parchment for the family trees. She was careful as she clipped the painting parchment to the sides of the easel while making sure that there would be no wrinkles for the quill to get stuck on. "This is ready. Who wants to go first?" She opened a bag and pulled out a handful of brand new quills so that they would not have any contamination

"Oh I would." Amy was practically bouncing in excitement. "What do I do.?"

Severus stepped over to the easel and pulled out a small vial that contained a silver fluid and small bowl. Once he poured the liquid into the bowl he pulled out a knife and gestured for Amy to come closer. "We need you to place seven drops of blood into the bowl."

He handed the knife to the nervous girl. She looked around at the others before pulling her bottom lip between her teeth and pricking her finger with the tip of the knife. Once the seven drops of blood hit the potion it turned to a pure black color. Lucius crossed over to Amy and pulled her clinched hand into his before waving his wand to heal the small cut. He stepped back with a small nod of his head.

Severus chose one of the quills and check its tip for sharpness. "Alright. Now all we have to do is place the quill in the potion." As he did this, the quill seemed to suck up the entire potion from the bowl. "And then we will place the quill at the bottom of the parchment and…" as he held the quill in place, it jumped out of his fingers and began to write. "So, black in will mean muggle, red will mean squib, and silver will mean magical. If there is a strike through a name, it means that they were disowned." He read the color key for the potion from the book that he had gotten the instructions from.

All eyes except for those of the three Hufflepuffs widened as they saw both of Amy's parents appear in red ink.

"My parents are squibs!" She was shocked at the thought of being a descendant of a magical line. The quill continued to write as more and more red names appeared on Amy's family tree. Some of the red names were surprisingly familiar, like Lastrange, Fudge and Greengrass. Very few names appeared in black. The first silver name appeared on her father's side showing an Ignatius Tuft. Then her mother's side showed an Isabel Ross had married Angus Dedworth. All three names were silver.

"You are a part of the Dedworth line." Lucius said with a dazed look on his face.

"Dedworth?" Amy asked with confusion."

"It's one of the original thirteen. It has been thought extinct for around two hundred years. No one knew that they had a squib. Not only that but you are related to the Ross and Tuft lines. They are still living, so you have magical family that is still alive." Selena explained to her friend.

Theo and Bellatrix stepped closer to the family tree to inspect it closely. Theo was looking between the parchment and Amy with amazement.

Amy stepped closer to Lucius as she asked. "Why are you looking at me like that."

Theo just continued to look from the parchment to Amy and back again.

"He is confused." Bellatrix said from beside the Nott heir. "You have barely any black on this tree, and the first black name is not until four generations back. All four of your grandparents were squibs. If you have four magical grandparents, you are considered pureblood; two magical grandparents would be halfblood, and then no magical grandparents or parents, mud…muggleborn. He…we… thought you were muggleborn…but…there is hardly any muggle here." She said as she turned back to the parchment.

Everyone was silent as they looked over the family tree that had rocked the foundations of every belief that magical children had been raised with.

"You will have to do an inheritance test with the Goblins. They will verify the findings and see if there are any vaults and estates in limbo waiting for an heir." Harry's smooth voice started the others out of their stupor.

"Estates? Vaults?" Amy and Lily were looking at the others with surprise.

"When a line falls, it is placed in a state of limbo in the hope that someone will be an heir. We don't like to lose our magical lines. He is correct. We will need to get you to Gringotts. Lily and Severus too, if they have any old lines that could be claimed. Not to mention that they could have votes that they inherited on the Wizengamot." Sirius spoke from beside Bellatrix causing her to jump and hold a hand to her chest as she glared at her cousin. "Lily next?" Gave a cheeky grin will still staring at his cousin, who rolled her eyes.

The process was repeated with similar results. Some of the names that appeared in red shocked the students in the room. Bellatrix and Sirius both gasped as Bertrand Black showed up as Lily's great grandfather on her father's side. Other names included Belby and Longbottom. The first silver name caused eyebrows around the room to widen. Adelaide Flamel.

"I think Adelaide Flamel is Nicolas Flamel's sister. I did a project on him last year for history and am almost sure that was her name. Lily, you could have a living Great Great Great Great Grand Uncle." Lily just stared at James with wide eyes.

Severus was quick to prick his finger and start his own family tree. He was not surprised to find that his father was actually written in black. He could not imagine his father having a drop of magical blood anywhere in his ancestry. When his mother showed up in silver he smiled at her name only to frown when Lucius gasped when her parents were listed. "What?"

"You are the grandson of Virgil Prince!"

"And?" The trio had a hard time keeping their mirth off of their face as Severus drawled out the word with boredom. Only Severus Snape would be able to make that word sound seven syllables long.

Lucius sighed. "Your mother has no strike through. She was not disowned. The Prince line is one of the thirteen. You are the only heir to that line. I didn't even know that he had a daughter. Everyone thinks that the line died when he did two years ago."

Severus just blinked at the information.

Remus spoke up from beside James. "If you still have the extra potions, I would like to see what my tree would look like." When the others turned to look at him he explained. "The Lupin family is old, but my mum is supposedly muggleborn. Lily and Amy are not as muggleborn as they thought and I want to see if she was. She always puts herself down for being muggleborn." Remus finished with a little shrug.

Severus helped Bellatrix remove his family tree and carefully rolled it up and placed it in a corner so that it would not get damaged. They then started the process one last time. This time, the group was not shocked when Remus's grandparents on his mother side showed up in red. What did surprise the group was that his grandmother's birth name was Matilda Nott. Theo snapped his head around to look at Remus with wide eyes. The two boys continued to stare at each other for a few moments before looking back at the family tree to see that Remus was also related to the Lovegood family. Theo sucked in a breath when he saw the names begin appearing with the last name Smith. The other purebloods in the room also seemed to tense, much to the confusion of those that had not been brought up in a magical house.

"What?" Remus asked with worry. Theo reached over and clamped a hand onto Remus's arm to hold him in place. Theo never took his eye off of the quill. Remus looked worriedly over to his friends to see them doing the same thing. Even the Peverells were watching the quill with raised brows. When he looked back at the tree he followed the Smith line that had caused so much tension in the room. _Let's see. Honor Smith, Albert Smith, Edward Smith…what is the big deal? I know there are no Smiths in the original thirteen. Oh look, silver now…another Edward Smith, Randal Smith, Virgil Smith…Oh, oh my._

Remus stared at the parchment with the others for a moment until his eyes rolled up and he crumpled towards the floor. Theo, with his grip on his newly found cousin, was able to slow the decent and ended up sitting on the floor with Remus laying half on his lap. Everyone turned from the fallen boy to continue to stare at the easel. Virgil Smith connected with a delicate line to his wife. Winifred Hufflepuff.


	15. Chapter 15

I am very sorry for the delay in getting this chapter posted. I will try to get the next chapter posted as quickly as I can but do want to go ahead and let you know that it will be at least two weeks before I can get another chapter posted since this time of year is always very busy for me. If I do have a chapter ready before those two weeks are up, I will most certainly post it though.

Thank you everyone for the reviews, follows, and favorites. You guys are awesome and make my day every time I get a notice or review. As always, if you have a question, please feel free to ask and I will answer through PM.

Happy reading

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

{Parseltongue}

Twelve teens continued to turn their gazes from the passed out Remus Lupin that was still laying half on Theo Nott to the parchment that declared him a direct descendant of a founder and back to the two boys on the floor.

"Well. That was unexpected." Draco broke the silence with his customary drawl and smirk. Nine pairs of incredulous gazes swung across the room to stare at the blond that was standing seemingly unaffected with his siblings. Harry and Hermione seemed to be fighting the urge to smile and seemed amused by the new development.

"Unexpected? Unexpected?" Theo sounded as though he would hyperventilate at any moment. "What was unexpected? The fact that I have a cousin that is the grandson of the sister that my grandfather never stopped looking for when he found out she was cast out because she was a squib? The fact that said new cousin is a descendant from Hufflepuff and is a Gryffindor? Or could it be that my new found Gryffinpuff cousin is a werewolf?" He was clearly still in shock as he babbled; he tried to pull Remus a bit closer in his panic.

"You know that he is a werewolf?" James yelled from his place beside Lily and Sirius, causing both of them to wince at the shout.

"Well of course they know." Severus said with a small sneer. "Al the Slytherin students know that there is a werewolf at Hogwarts, although only the upper years have figured out that it is Lupin."

Sirius stared at the Slytherin in surprise. "You told? How could you have told? Dumbledore said that he made you make a vow so that you could not tell anyone about Remus."

"Of course I told my house. I can't have the younger students sneaking out or even the older students sneaking out of the castle without knowing the danger. No one leaves the common room on full moons now to make sure that there is no danger. And apparently vows that jeopardize safety of students will not work within the castle. I never even felt the vow take hold." Severus was still researching on why the vow had not taken hold of his magic. The only thing that he could think of at this point was that there was some sort of protection within the castle it's self that prevented it.

James and Sirius were staring at the Slytherin boy in shock. The other Slytherins just nodded as if it was no big deal that they had been around a werewolf while studying.

"So…you…but you have been studying with him!" James was having a hard time processing all the shocks that he had received this morning. _Merlin, we have just now finished the second week of school. This year is going to kill me._

"What? It's not like he is going to jump on the table and eat my essay." Bellatrix said as she crossed her arms. Both of the Gryffindor boys turned to look at her with wide eyes. Lily snickered at their shocked faces as they processed the very Sirius -like comment coming from a snarky Bellatrix. "Oh come on. He is only a wolf for one night a month and is extremely smart. Why wouldn't we study with him?" She rolled her eyes and moved to kneel beside Theo who was still clutching at his unconscious cousin in shock. After prying his arms from around the sandy haired boy she whispered "Rennervate."

Remus jerked into a sitting position and looked wildly around the room. Bellatrix moved away from the boy so that she would not startle him further. Remus finally turned wild eyes towards Theo.

"So…" Theo had no idea what he should say to the boy. "Er…I guess we should send a letter to my grandfather and father, yeah?" Remus just continued to stare. "My grandfather will be glad to know finally what happened to his little sister." Remus finally nodded and stood up when James came over and offered a hand. Lucius helped Theo up as the room descended back into silence."

"Moony…they know about your furry little problem!" James could not stop himself from blurting it out into the quiet room, causing Remus to pale and the Slytherins and Lily to roll their eyes.

"Don't worry Remus, they don't care and have actually known for a while." Lily said after smacking the back of James' head as she spoke.

"What? They know?" Remus was just blinking at nothing as he tried to process his morning. Bellatrix sighed and levitated one of the couches into the middle of the room and cast a quick Reparo and Scourgify at the dusty couch. Once clean it was a light gray color with darker stripes across the fabric. Placing her wand back inside her sleeve she pulled a stunned Remus over to the couch and was able to get him to sit in the middle of the couch while she settled next to him.

Severus began to take the parchment with Remus's family history down from the easel and roll it up with care. Looking at the sway Remus was still staring at nothing, he shrugged and placed it in the corner with his own parchment. The others quickly followed Bellatrix's example and moved the other couches and arm chairs into a circle in the middle of the large room. Once they were all clean and repaired they all took seats; no one seemed to know how to break the silence again.

"Alright, we just can't sit here forever. What do we do now?" Surprisingly, Amy was the first to get tired of the silence.

Hermione smiled at the girl that was blushing slightly as she stole glances at Lucius, who had claimed the seat beside her on one of the couches. "As we said before, we need to get you four to the bank to do an inheritance ritual with the Goblins to claim any estates and Vaults. You, Severus, and Remus will need to claim your seats on the Wizengamot and then you should request for any votes that have been made in your families name to go over before the first meeting in November. Any votes that have been made in your families name illegally you can overturn. Like we said before, the Peverell seat will be changing some votes that have been made in our name and some laws that did not pass by a valid margin are going to be revisited for a re-vote. The same could be said for you as well if someone has placed a claim on your seats."

"We would also suggest that you contact any living magical family that you may have. Family is everything to wizarding families and they would want to know that you are here and related to them. Lily, I know that the Flamel family has no heirs and Nicolas was devastated when he learned of his sister's death, you are related to the blacks and I imagine that both Bellatrix and Sirius would let their families know." Both Blacks nodded at the red headed girl. "The Belby and Longbottom families would want to know about your family connections. Both the Ross and Tuft families would welcome Amy as family and possibly heir since I don't think they have one already, and the Greengrass family, Fudge and Lastrange Families would want to know. And Remus, Theo has already decided to write to his father and grandfather."

Severus just smiled in relief to know that he was not being told to write to people and tell them that he was related to them. Everyone in his family was already dead. Harry saw the expression on his face and smirked. "And Severus here, while he does not have anyone to write to in order to announce their existence, I imagine if other muggleborns take the potion, they will be contacting him since he will be the Head of the Prince Family." Severus looked at Harry with horror as all feelings of relief drained away before he had even had a chance to enjoy them. Draco started to snicker when he heard Severus start to mutter under his breath about not wanting to deal with dunderheads writing to him.

When Amy, Lily and Remus still looked apprehensive of contacting their existing magical families, Lucius, Theo, and the trio were quick to offer their help in writing their letters. Remus continued to look more depressed from the revelations of the day than excited.

"What is it Lup…Remus?" Theo asked.

"I just don't see the point of going to the bank or contacting anyone. I am a werewolf. I can't hold a seat and what person in their right mind would want anything to do with a monster like me?"

There were quite a few outraged shouts of "Hey!" from around the room.

"I resent you saying that our family is not in their right mind." Theo said with a snarl. When Remus tried to speak Theo was quick to make the boy sit back and listen. "What part of 'Family is Everything' can you not get into your furry little head? My Grandfather was devastated to find out that his father had cast his little sister out of the family and has never stopped looking for her. He would not give a shit if you were the love child of a vampire and monkey from Egypt. You are family and you will fucking deal with it. Grow a pair." Theo huffed and would not look at anyone after his outburst. Everyone was looking at him like he was insane.

"Monkey from Egypt? Where did that come from?" Sirius whispered to James who just shook his head.

"He is right about the seat though." Severus sighed. "It is a shame that no one has ever found the missing potion recipes from Slytherin. One was supposed to be a cure for werewolves. I would marry a monkey from Egypt to have access to those potions." Severus just stared at the ceiling as he began to daydream about potions that had been lost to time.

"What lost potion recipes?" Draco perked up.

"Oh, it is just a legend in Slytherin house." Bellatrix said with a sigh. "There are supposed to be Potions created by Salazar written into the walls somewhere in the Slytherin common room. There is nothing on the walls but decorations though."

The trio looked at each other with a frown. Hermione reached into her bag and rummaged around until she found one of the Parseltongue books that they had found. Opening it to a random page she handed it to Severus, who was the closest Slytherin to her. "Have you ever seen anything like this written or carved onto the walls?"

Severus looked at the book with interest before shaking his head. The trio just sighed. Of course there would not actually be recipes written onto the walls in the common room, if there had been, Voldemort would have been able to read them and Draco would have said something while they were reading the books over the summer.

Bellatrix reached over and pulled the book from Severus so that she could see. After frowning for a moment she cleared her throat. "I have never seen anything like this in our common room or dorms, but there is a room further in the dungeons that have carvings that look a bit like this." All gazes locked onto the curly headed girl. "I looked around a lot before I decided to use this room because of all the light." She shrugged as she handed the book back to Hermione.

The trio was very excited. "Do you remember where it was? Can you show us?" Harry was intense as he addressed the girl who nodded.

"What was that? Some type of rune?" Severus asked as he stood with the others and made his way to the door.

"That Severus dear," Hermione said with a bright smile as she slipped an arm around his elbow, "was Parseltongue." Everyone paused to look at the trio to see if they were serious. "Oh come on, think about it. It is a language…most languages will have a written form, this is just one of the odder ones."

"Legends can cage over time. He may never have written anything in the common rooms. Hell, the students back then may have stayed in different areas of the castle. Let's see if these carvings Bellatrix remembers are just bedtime stories for snakes or Potions that no one remembers." Harry's comment caused some of the others to nod their heads in agreement.

The group once again set off into the dungeons after Bellatrix. Even the other Slytherins had not ventured this far into the depths of the castle. After five minutes of walking, Bellatrix halted in front of a wooden door. "This is it." The door was eerily silent as it was pushed open. As the group filed in, torches lit up around the room. There were no windows or other furniture. It was just a large empty room with carvings all over the wall and floor and torches. "I thought it was creepy down here when I found it. This is definitely not a good room for painting, or anything fun anyway."

"It's a ritual room." Draco said as he looked at the carvings on the floor. "These carvings are Parsel-Runes meant to contain magic used in rituals." Draco was very impressed with the protections that had been carved into the ritual room.

While Draco admired the Parsel-Runes on the floor, Hermione and Harry started to read the carvings on the wall. "Well, there are definitely some potions here, also some spells and notes for conducting safe rituals. Oh this is a ritual to give a woman that is having problems with pregnancy extra strength." Hermione smiled as she ran her fingers over a section of the wall. The rest of the group just watched at the trio scanned the walls while commenting on the writing every once and a while.

Draco finally inspected the floor as much as he could and made his way to the far corner. After a few moments he called his siblings over. "Hey, I think the legend about a cure is true." After Harry and Hermione looked at the carved instructions they leaned back to look at each other around Draco with raised brows. Draco was still staring at the potion on the wall.

"Why are you looking at each other like that? This is a good thing right?" Theo looked from the trio to Remus and back again.

"It's just one of the more ingredient rich and time consuming potions I have ever seen." Hermione spoke softly.

"Can it be done?" Sirius wanted his friend to feel like he was normal for once. He absolutely hated that he was always thinking of himself as a monster.

Draco turned around to look at the others that were standing huddled together around Remus. "It can, if Severus and Hermione work with me, we can brew it. We will have to order some of the ingredients that I don't have already, but that will not be a problem. The issue is that it takes two months of brewing. It will take all three of us as at midnight on the two full moons when brewing since you have to add three types of ingredients while stirring at the same time. The rest of it we can handle if we each work together and take turns attending it."

"Why just you three? Wouldn't you need a fourth person if not more?" Lily asked in confusion.

"Because, Hermione could go for a Mastery in Potions if she wanted, I am planning on it, and so is Severus if he has any common since at all. He is a natural. This is probably a Mastery level potion and I don't want to risk anyone else. Some of the ingredients are very volatile and the process is very exact. I don't want to risk something happening if we mess up." Lily quickly nodded at blond. She was very aware that she was nowhere near the level of talent as Severus.

Hermione pulled out parchment and quill as she sat on the floor and pulled out a book to as a makeshift desk to write against. "I am ready Draco." Harry moved to the far corner and also pulled out Parchment and Quill so that he could copy some of the ritual and spells in the smaller carvings. The larger carvings for potions would have to be dictated so they would not miss an ingredient or any of the steps.

Draco took a deep breath. "Alright, Ingredients: Kotochul Egg Shell, Mimosa Bark, Datura Pollen, Comfrey Root, Cockle Shells, Jimsonweed, Shisandra Berry, Basilisk Skin, Yarrow Root, Gnat Wings, Billywig Sting Slime, Unicorn Hair, Henbane, Runespoor egg, Aconite, Acromantula Venom…"

As Draco continued to list ingredients, Remus made faces at the more disgusting one and wilted at the ones that he figured they had no chance of getting. _How in Merlin's name would we get Basilisk Skin, and what is a Kotochul?_ Draco spent over two hours dictating the ingredients and the instructions to Hermione. They made sure to double check everything with Hermione reading back her translation as Draco read along on the carving.

"Severus, this should be a challenge." Draco smiled at the Slytherin who was almost catatonic from listening to the instructions for the potion and the different ingredients.

"I don't know how you think you will be able to get some of those ingredients though. The Basilisk Skin and Acromantula Venom are two of the rarest worldwide. That is not even mentioning some of the other ingredients." Remus's depressed comment caused some of the others to look at the trio with sad looks.

"Leave it to us. We actually can get both the Basilisk Skin and Acromantula Venom fairly easily. And we have most of the other rare ingredients since we are such hoarders when it comes to Potion ingredients." Harry smirked at the group.

The trio did not pay any attention to the blinking that was aimed in their direction when they said they could get Basilisk Skin and Acromantula Venom fairly easily. Hermione copied the recipe and handed a copy to each Draco and Severus to look over before they began. She then pulled out another piece of parchment that had been folded and moved into a corner so that no one would see her activate her copy of the map. Once the map was activated, she whispered a spell to begin one of the functions she had added to the new maps. This feature would update the map as they walked back towards the known area of the castle. As her map updated with the new information, the other two would update automatically. She closed the map so nothing could be seen and placed back into its pouch within her bag.

"Oh." Severus was stunned that the trio thought that this potion was actually something that they could accomplish soon. "When should we start it then?"

"We should start on Monday evening; the Seventeenth. That way we have will have the potion ready within the three to seven days that it needs to be taken before the full moon in November, which is the twenty-third. Remus should hold off on doing the Inheritance Ritual with the Goblins until then so that he will show up as completely human on the test. Any creature blood will show up. We will know by the twenty-third if the potion works…unless we have to start over…which I would prefer not to do." Draco looked at both Hermione and Severus as he said the last. They both nodded in agreement. Neither of them would want to have to start over when dealing with such an intensive potion. Two months was long enough to work on it without having to start over because they made a mistake.

The group walked out of the room with the trio bringing up the rear. As Draco and Hermione reached the door they looked at Harry who was still at his wall. He smirked in their direction while running his fingers over a single carving on the only empty space on the walls. His siblings both quirked a brow in his direction as they left the room to follow behind the rest of the group.

{What have you found?} Hermione was curious.

{I am fairly sure that it is another entrance to the chamber.} Harry grinned as he hissed back to his siblings.

Draco smiled. {Good. I hope this one has stairs. I was not looking forward to sliding down a slime covered tunnel only to land on bones and filth.} Draco somehow managed to sound pompous while hissing causing Hermione and Harry to break out in laughter. They really could not see him using the other entrance either.

The group made their way quickly back to Bellatrix's paining room and took seats on the couches again. Severus had been pulled along by Lucius and Amy since he would not stop reading his copy of the Werewolf Cure.

"I think that we should go ahead and write all of our letters. What should we say?" Lily was excited at the thought of having a magical heritage, and even some living magical relatives. Remus and Amy nodded their agreement.

After a few moments of thought, Harry gave a shrug. "I think it is best to keep it simple. Tell them that you took the Legacy Potion and it revealed a relation. Then let them know that you will be going to Gringotts to take their Legacy Test to confirm the results on Hogsmeade weekend. I think the next one is on the twenty-third. We can all go that morning. We will flue to Diagon Alley. It should not be terribly busy with it being Mabon."

"What is Mabon?" Amy scrunched up her nose in confusion. The purebloods in the room just blinked at the girl in confusion.

"You don't know what it is?" Theo finally asked. Remus, Amy, Lily, and Severus all shook their heads. The Slytherins stared at Severus in surprise. "You don't know either? I just thought that you did not like the traditions."

Selena decided to explain to the muggle raised of their group. "Mabon is celebrated at the Autumn Equinox. It is a time of balance as we celebrate the coming of the dark or the end of harvest time. We spend time with family and eat foods from the Earth, like nuts, fruit and vegetables; nothing that is cooked is eaten to give thanks for a good harvest. Families will strengthen their wards at home and spend time connecting to their magic."

"If you want, you can celebrate with us and we will show you what to do." Hermione was pleased when Bellatrix made the offer to the others. It was easy for her to think of this girl as a completely different person from the woman that tortured her in her past life. The group agreed that they would celebrate Mabon together since they would all be going to Gringotts together anyways.

The group then split up to write their letters. Theo and Remus went to one corner of the room so that they could talk as Theo wrote his letters to his father and grandfather about Remus. Remus learned that he would not have to contact the living branch of the Smith family because they were not the main branch and had no relation to Hufflepuff. The Smith family that had been related to the founder had died mysteriously when her elf had gone crazy. Theo answered questions about his family and asked Remus about his childhood. His grandfather would be sad to know that his sister had died when Remus was a baby, but would be able to finally stop looking.

Lily was writing a letter to the Flamels while Bellatrix wrote to the head of the Black family on her behalf. Selena was writing the letter to the Belby family and Severus wrote a short letter to the Longbottom family. When Hermione read the snarky letter written by Severus, she rolled her eyes and wrote a second one that would not be insulting in tone. Lily smiled as she signed both letters written by the girls.

Amy wrote both letters to the Ross and Tuft families while James wrote to the Greengrass', Sirius wrote to the Fudge family, and Lucius wrote a letter to the Lastrange family. Once all the letters had been signed and placed into envelopes, Sirius said that he would take them all to the owlery to send them out. The group headed out of the room with Lily, Remus, Amy, and Severus holding their scrolls carefully and Sirius holding a large stack of letters. All but the marauders decided to go back to their dormitories until dinner.

James and Remus helped Sirius attach each letter to a different school owl before turning to him expectantly.

"What?" Sirius looked around at the floor to see if he had dropped a letter by mistake or missed one.

"Your letter. Read it." Remus said with a smile.

"Oh. That. Alright." Sirius was careful as he pulled the letter from his pocket. He had wanted to forget that it had come all day. His friends watched as he fingered the seal on the envelope without opening it.

"Come on Padfoot, open it." James came closer to his friend so that he could throw an arm over his shoulder. Remus did the same from the other side. With a shaky sigh and nod, Sirius finally opened the letter for them to read.

 _Son,_

 _We were surprised to receive your letter. We will expect you to join us for tea at two o'clock on Mabon. Let you brother know that you are both expected._

 _Your Father_

Remus winced at the short and abrupt letter. _Poor Sirius._ He turned to offer his friend what comfort he could and was surprised to see Sirius grinning widely while tears rolled down his cheeks. "Um…mate? How do you feel about this?" James shared a confused look with Remus before turning back to their still grinning friend. Neither could figure out what made him smile. The tears they could get, the smile confused both of them.

Sirius clutched his letter closely as he whispered. "He called me son."


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Thank you for the many wonderful reviews, they are always a bright point in my day. I am so glad that you all enjoyed the last chapter. I am sorry that this one took so long to be posted, but I had a hard time deciding what would actually be in this chapter. I hope that you all enjoy it.

As always, if you have questions, please let me know and I will try to respond by PM.

Happy Reading and Happy Holidays.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

{Parseltongue}

The next morning the trio was awake before the sun had made its appearance. They met in the common room dressed in some of their more durable robes so that they would not be ruining their better clothing if they actually had to fight the basilisk. They had each pulled their invisibility cloaks out of their trunks to ensure that they would not been seen wondering through the halls by a teacher.

Hermione smiled at her brothers as she whispered a spell on each of them so that they would be able to see each other even when under the cloaks. The spell would only work with these specific cloaks since the spell was linked directly from the people that the spell had been cast on to the cloaks. No words were said as the trio silently left their common room.

The boys followed Hermione who was following the new route that showed on her map. Once they were back in the Parsel-Ritual room, the trio pulled their cloaks off and placed them into pockets on the inside of their robes. Harry was quick to ward the room so that no one would come into the room before they left. Draco walked over to the wall that Harry had found the day before and waited for his siblings to join him.

Once both were beside him, he smirked and hissed the three words that were carved onto this wall. {Grant Me Passage.} The wall slowly melted away to show a corridor that snaked its way deeper into the castle; torches began to light as the trio stepped into corridor.

It did not take the long to find themselves in the chamber that Harry had originally faced the Basilisk and the memory of Tom Riddle.

"Was it this dirty when you came down here in second year?" Draco had his nose scrunched in distaste as he looked around the fabled Chamber of Secrets. He would have killed for the chance to come down here while he was in Slytherin but felt that a room of a founder should have been at least kept clean.

"I think it was a bit dirtier actually." Harry was looking around the room. He had been so scared and traumatized when he had been in here before that he had never taken time to look at the room. "It looks smaller than I remember though."

"It seems bigger to me now that there is not a big snake skeleton in the middle of the floor. And of course it is going to be dirty Draco, house elves don't know where this room is."

"Whatever. Let's get on with this so that we can look around and see if there is more to this chamber than a big ass statue of Salazar's face."

Harry rolled his eyes at his brother and made his way to stand in front of the statue while his siblings made their way to either side of the statue. Both pulled out their wands and the roosters that they had stunned and borrowed from Hagrid's chicken pen. They were prepared to cause them to crow if the Basilisk needed to be killed. As soon as his siblings nodded to him that they were ready, he spoke. {Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts four.}

Harry quickly backed away and lowered his eyes as the mouth to the statue opened. The trio could hear the basilisk hissing as it came closer to the entrance of it's lair.

{Who has called to me? You are not the one that was here before.} The great snake reared up in front of Harry as she asked her question. She seemed surprised that someone had come into her territory. {The last one to come here said that he would be last to manage to open the entrance.}

{Great Snake of Slytherin, I am Harry Peverell and I have come to see if you are a danger to the school. I know that a student was killed when the one you spoke of last came into the chamber.} Harry was trying to flatter the snake while he figured out if she was going to be a problem.

The snake hissed angrily as she began to coil in agitation. {I tried to protect my master's students. The young speaker was able to use an old spell and bind me to him. I was unable to fight his instructions and caused a girl to die. My master would be so disappointed that I was unable to fight the spell that changed my purpose from one of protection to one of death.} The trio winced at the distress that seemed to ooze from the snake. Draco and Hermione placed the roosters in their pockets so that they could be reached easily if needed as they stepped away from the wall and joined their brother in front of the snake.

{Are you still a danger to the students, Great Snake?} Hermione hissed softly to the agitated snake.

{Yes. I will not be able to fight if the young speaker returns to control me again.} The snake lowered its head in shame as she hissed her answer. {Even now, I am only able to prevent myself from attacking because he bound me to 'The Speaker'. I do not think that another would ever find my hiding place.}

{What would you have us do Great Snake? Is there some way that we can help you?} Draco asked the snake that coiled into itself. All three siblings were still making sure to keep their eyes averted from making contact with the deadly eyes of a distraught basilisk.

{I wish to be with my master again. Please new speakers, make sure that I cannot hurt another. Let me rest and return to my master.}

Harry just glared at the floor. He had been hoping that the snake would not have to die at all this time around and had not expected for the snake to ask for them to kill her herself. He nodded. {It shall be as you wish Great Snake.} Draco and Hermione pulled the roosters back out of their pockets. {This should not be painful to you according to our research. The roosters will crow and you will rest.}

{Before you release me…there is a hidden door on the side of the statue where I slept. The entrance will only open with the password used at the main entrance which the other speaker never found. Inside is the study of my master, if you can find the password, you may use what is inside.}

The trio's eyes followed the snake's tail as it made a gesture to the left of the statue. With one last nod towards the snake, Harry gave his siblings a quick signal to make the rooster's crow. With the first crow, the snake stiffened and cocked its head to the side as though to hear better. With a soft hiss, the snake lay down and drew its last breath.

Hermione winced as she banished both roosters back to the chicken pen once she was sure that the snake was dead. {Well. That has got to be the most depressing thing I have ever heard.} She walked over to the head of the snake that could have been sleeping and ran her hands over the scales. She had always known that the snake had to have been magnificent when she had seen its skeleton. It had been a beautiful snake.

{Riddle has a lot to answer for. This was just wrong. I hope he dies screaming.} Harry joined Hermione in admiring the snake.

{At least she cannot be used anymore.} Draco watched his siblings as they ran their hands over the sides of the large snake. {Come on. We have a lot to do. We have classes tomorrow and need to get as much of her rendered as we can. Hermione, can you go through the mouth of the statue to see if there is anything that we can use in there. We can use skins if they are not too old.} Hermione nodded and made her way towards the statue. {Harry, you see if you can find that study. If you do, we will take everything with us. Any books we find we will have added to our library so that the charmed list we have can catalog everything.} Draco watched as Harry nodded dejectedly before heading over to the left side of the statue to whisper the password they had used to gain entry to the chamber. When the wall melted away, Harry sent him a small smile before disappearing into the new room. Draco rolled up his sleeves and summoned jars before getting to work.

Hermione was the first to rejoin Draco in the main chamber. She had a large box that she had obviously summoned that she placed with the containers that Draco had summoned for the basilisk parts. She quickly shed her outer robe and used the coils of the snake to situate herself on the head of the massive snake. From there she was able to remove the three different lids could have been used to control the killing stare of the basilisk. Each type was put into separate jars. She was then able to remove the eyes without damaging them. Now that the snake was dead, they no longer had the power to kill just by gazing into them.

Draco was had carefully removed all the teeth from the mouth that he propped open with a spell that he had learned from his godfather during one of the many summers they had spent together. Once the teeth had all been removed he carefully leaned into the mouth of the massive snake so that he could reach the venom sacks. With a small puncture, he began directing the venom through a tube into the large jars that he had summoned. Once both sacks were empty, they had thirteen large jars full. Draco helped Hermione slide off the head of the snake before handing her a longer knife than she had used while harvesting the eyes.

{This one is from our vault and will be able to cut through the skin. Get as much skin as you can and we will preserve it so that it will stay fresh. It will probably be better than dried skin. I am going to cut through and get the heart and other organs. There is no telling if some of them can be used, so it will be better to have them just in case.} Hermione just nodded at Draco as she set to work cutting strips of skin as wide as she could from the sides of the snake.

Both were so involved in their work that they did not notice when Harry came out of the hidden room while six boxes levitated behind him. Once the boxes of books, loose papers, and random items he had found, were settled into place with the rest of the summoned containers, He rolled up his sleeves and picked up the last knife that they had taken from their vault for this purpose. He joined Hermione in gathering skin from the other side of the basilisk.

Time slipped away from the trio as they worked on preserving as much of the large snake as they could. Once they had harvested all they felt they could get use from, they came together at the head of the serpent once more. Draco grimaced as he looked over himself and his siblings. Hermione and Harry both shot him thankful smiles as he whispered a cleaning spell for each of them; even with most of the grim now gone they would be taking showers as soon as they could.

{That's that.} Harry rolled his neck around until the others could hear the pop as his neck popped. {Let's get rid of the rest and then we will deal with Aragog tonight.} All three pulled their wands as spoke together, still in Parseltongue. {Evanesco.} It took the combined power of all three of them to vanish the remains of the basilisk.

{What is the plan for Aragog anyway?} Hermione turned to Harry with one brow raised.

{I am going to walk into their nest and tell Aragog and Mosag that they will provide me with ingredients for potions and then leave the forest forever, or I will destroy their nest with Fiendfire.} Harry shrugged nonchalantly as Hermione closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

{Well aright then, going for straight out threats. I like it.} Draco smirked.

{Whatever.} Hermione muttered as she made her way over to the containers they now had to get back to their rooms. She sighed as she summoned another box and cast space enlargement charms so that they could fit everything inside. _It is such a good thing that we have had so much practice in space enlargement charms._ {What time is it anyways?}

Harry cast a tempus charm and then sighed. {It's about time for dinner. I guess we have enough time to get showers before making an appearance. Once we have been seen in the common rooms after curfew we can head into the forest.} The boys helped Hermione finish packing everything into the box before heading back up the new entrance to the chamber. They left no indication that they had ever been there.

Once back in the Parsel-Ritual room, they called for Viddy and had her take the box to their vault for safe keeping. Harry and Draco had made sure to keep out what they would need for the potion that they would be starting tomorrow. They all covered up with their cloaks before removing the privacy spells from the room. No one noticed as they slipped through the halls among the other students.

When they walked into the Great Hall for dinner they drew eyes from around the room. Many had wondered where they had gotten off to for the whole day. The Headmaster had even gone so far as to ask most of the Hufflepuffs if anyone had seen the trio. The trio just smiled in unison at anyone who asked about their day and continued to eat.

By the end of the night, the trio fell into their beds exhausted but satisfied. The forest would no longer be plagued by an Acromantula colony and they had collected five large jars of venom from Aragog and Mosag as well as hairs that had been shed from the rest of the colony. The spiders quickly decided to leave when the trio walked into their nest while fire danced around their feet as though a large serpent. When they were told that they would be burned out by the fire if they did not do as they were told, they had found the decision to leave very easy. The trio was asleep before their heads hit their pillows.

* * *

EARLIER THAT MORNING

~~FLAMEL COTTAGE~~

Nicolas Flamel was enjoying a cup of coffee while his wife, Perenelle, fixed him a plate of breakfast when his attention was caught by an owl. With a sigh, he sat down his cup of coffee and walked over to the window to let the bird in. After relieving the foreign bird of its letter, the little owl flew away, leaving a bewildered Nicolas behind.

"What's that then dear?" His wife said as she settled in at the table to enjoy breakfast with her husband.

"No idea Pen, love." Nicolas made his way back to his seat while looking at the envelope in his hands. "It's from some girl named Lily Evans. It is probably just another request for information about the stone." He didn't even bother to open the letter before tossing it onto the table and reaching for his cup of coffee with a sigh of pleasure.

"Now dear, you are no seer. Let's just see what she wants before we go and make evil eyes at the letter." She smiled at her husband's antics as she picked up the letter. He hated to get mail, and if he was bothered before his second cup of coffee, he was absolutely irritable. She slid her finger under the seal on the back and quickly began reading the letter. With a gasp she stood from her chair while staring at the letter in her hand.

"What Pen? What's wrong?" Nicolas stood and quickly made his way to his pale wife. She just looked at him with tears in her eyes along with some emotion that he could not identify. He gently pulled the letter from his wife's hands and read as quickly as he could to find out what had upset his wife. A few moments later he looked at his wife while blinking. "Pen…I think…I think that we need to go to England for Mabon this year."

Perenelle just nodded and headed off to pack, leaving a stunned Nicolas at a table that was filled with a rapidly cooling breakfast and coffee as he stared at the letter that had just turned his world up side down.

 _Dear Mr. Flamel,_

 _I am not sure what I should actually say in this letter, but am writing at the urging of my friends here at school. We had decided that those of us in our study group that were muggleborn would use the Legacy Potion. My results showed that I am descended from and Adelaide Flamel who was magical. My classmate had a project on you last year and said that he thought that this was the name of your sister._

 _My friends and I will be going to Gringotts first thing in the morning on Mabon to confirm that our results were correct. I am not sure what to expect from writing this letter, but my friends have told me that I need to write to each of the families that the potion show I am related to since the magical community take family seriously. I hope that you are well and that my letter is not to upsetting for you._

 _Sincerely_

 _Lily Evans_

~~LASTRANGE MANOR~~

"FATHER!" The shout could be heard throughout the manor, causing Rabastan to drop his cup of tea into his lap and his father to raise one brow and look towards the door as Rodolphus burst in the door as though being chased by a hellhound.

Rupert Lastrange was not impressed with his son's entrance. "Surely I did not just see you run into the dining room as though you have not been taught how to act like a civilized human being? What has you acting as though you are an uncouth muggle?

Rodolphus was still gasping for breath and trying to smooth down his hair at the same time. Both men at the table noticed the letter that was clutched in his hand. "Sorry Father. I just received a letter from Lucius and thought that I should tell you about it immediately." His father winced as he plopped down in his chair, but he simply could not think straight this morning.

"Well? What has managed to get you all worked up?"

"Apparently, Lucius has joined a study group, and some of the other members mentioned something about magic coming from somewhere and not out of nowhere." He paused to take a gulp of water. Both his father and brother were looking at him expectantly. "Apparently, he has been studying with some muggleborn students too." Both of his table-mates raised their brows at this.

"And you are upset that Lucius is consorting with mudbloods?" Rabastan asked.

"No, they apparently decided that they would test the theory that had been put forth by the Peverell siblings by having those of muggle heritage use the Legacy Potion to see if what would show up. All of them showed magical heritage."

"What? How is that possible?" His father looked as shocked as he still felt and he had not even gotten to the shocking part yet.

"From what they could tell, each of the 'muggleborn' was descended from squibs that had been cast out of their families. They would enter marry while in the muggle world and eventually the magic is strong enough to emerge again. Lucius said that there was very little muggle in any of the trees that they had created."

"Well, that is certainly shocking news. That is still no excuse for your entrance this morning." His father seemed to have regained his composure and had picked up his tea.

"That was only part of what I was trying to say. One of the girls, Amy Flower, Her grandmother was Raphaelia Lastrange." Rodolphus was pleased when his father choked on the sip of tea he had just taken. This was the first time he had ever caused his father do something so common. His brother was just staring at him slack jawed.

"What?" Rabastan whispered.

"They are all going to Gringotts early on Mabon to have the Goblins run their inheritance test to verify their findings."

After a moment of silence Rupert looked at both of his sons. "I expect both of you to be awake and presentable early on Mabon. We will be going to Gringotts and after the results we will be greeting our cousin. Remember boys, cynnal at y gwaed." Rupert stood and left the room while his sons sat staring at their plates in silence. Their family motto had always been something that they had been proud of and felt that the Welsh motto was proof that mudbloods would never be welcome in their family. Now, the words took on a deeper meaning. What good was it to 'Maintain the Blood' if you were just going to toss it away when it did not meet your expectations. If this girl was a part of their family, they would make sure that she knew that the Lastrange family would stand behind their blood.

~~NOTT MANOR~~

Benjamin Nott was sitting in his study with his son when they received a letter from one of the Hogwarts owls. "Well Theodore, what does my grandson have to say? Is he doing well in his studies?" He had already turned his attention back to the ledger on his desk after watching his son retrieve the letter from the owl. It took a few moments for him to realize that he had not received an answer. Looking up, he found his soon looking at the letter with a puzzled look on his face. "What in Merlin's name could the boy have said to have you so befuddled?"

Theodore looked up and blinked at his father. "Oh, he was just telling me about a project that he and some of his study group had conducted." Benjamin just stared at his son. "It is rather surprising. Let me read it to you and you will see." Benjamin just nodded and sat back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest. After clearing his throat, Theodore started to read.

Father and Grandfather,

 _Father, please make sure that Grandfather is sitting down when you read this._ Benjamin's eyebrows shot up at the introduction to the letter. _My study group and I had been debating the origins of magic and where it comes from in regards to the muggleborn students when we decided that our muggleborn in our group would use the Legacy Potion to see if they had a magical heritage. We found in fact that all of them did have a magical heritage to the point that there was very little muggle to be found in their tree. This is, however, not what I am writing you about._ Benjamin could not fathom where the boy was going with this information.

 _One of the boy's in my study group used the potion to see where his mother's family came from. (This is after we found that the others were all descended from mostly squibs.) He had thought that his mother was a muggleborn, and wanted to see what he could find out about that part of his family. His tree revealed that his Grandmother was Matilda Nott._ Benjamin was now on his feet as he stared at his son as he read.

 _We are going to be going to Gringotts early on Mabon if you want to meet him. He will not be taking the test that day as he is a werewolf and does not want that to show on an official record. Do not worry though, we have found the lost potions of Salazar Slytherin and the Peverell siblings bar Harry and my class mate Severus Snape (Who is a Prince) will be making the cure potion that we have always heard about. Once he is no longer a werewolf he can take the test and then he can claim the Lordship and seat for the Hufflepuff family. That is all the news that I have for now. We will talk to you later and I will let you know if I find out more about our new furry Griffinpuff._

 _Love_

 _Theo_

 _P.S. His name is Remus Lupin._

"What?" Theodore watched as emotions flashed across his father's face as he processed the letter that he had just been read. He was really not surprised when his father's eyes rolled up and he fell to the floor.

"Honestly. And he wonders where Theo gets his excitable personality from." Theodore sat back in his chair to wait for his father to come around. They had a lot of talking and planning to do. As he sat in silence thinking about the letter he chucked to himself. "Furry Griffinpuff."


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Thank you for all the reviews, follows and favorites. You guys continue to blow me away with your response to this story. If you have questions, please feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer through PM. I know a lot of you are waiting anxiously for Mabon, and it is coming soon... :)

Happy Reading!

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

{Parseltongue}

The study group met the next day after eating a quick lunch. No one was able to find out where the trio had spent the day before other than to find out that they were picking up a few ingredients that they needed for the potion.

Draco and Hermione quickly made planes to meet with Severus in their room in the dungeons to being the potion for the werewolf cure. Everyone else thought it would be a good idea to go as well so that they could start on that day's homework. After finalizing their plans, everyone went to their next class.

The marauders never noticed that Peter had been staring at them throughout lunch while rubbing his left arm in agitation. However, the trio noticed and talked about it on their way to Double Potions.

{Did you notice Peter rubbing at his arm?} Hermione allowed Harry to direct her steps as she was digging through her bag to double check that she had her Potions essay.

{Yes. I did not think he was marking people while they were in school though. Especially at this point in time.} Harry pulled Hermione to the side to allow a frantic Hufflepuff to pass as he ran down the hall.

{I don't know. I know that my father and thTe Blacks all waited until they were out of school. Then again, Father started pushing for me to be marked in our sixth year. It's not like Voldemort is full of scruples and thinks that marking children is morally wrong. I think it is a good bet that Peter is marked already. Voldemort would want someone to tell him what was going on in the school.}

{We will have to keep a close eye on him then. We can use the maps to track him.} Harry was not surprised that Peter could already be marked. They had understood that they would not be able to save everyone. {I won't let him hurt anyone this time.}

Hermione looked up with a frown. {We won't Harry. None of this is just on you. If Peter needs dealing with, we will all deal with it.} Draco was nodding while looking at his brother while Hermione spoke. {You will never be alone in this again. It is not up to you to save the world anymore.}

{But Hermione…}

{No buts, Harry.} Draco hissed the words softly, but there was no mistaking his unyielding tone. {We may make things easier for them, but it is up to everyone to save their own ass. You are not responsible for the decisions that people make and it is not your job to clean up their messes. Do you understand?}

Harry looked at the floor and nodded. This was something that they had talked about a lot over the summer, and Harry still had trouble letting go sometimes. He looked up and smiled shakily at his siblings. {I get it. I am not the savior and people make their own decisions.} He sounded a lot more confident than he had a few months ago. Draco and Hermione stared at him for a moment before they began to walk down the hallway again.

Those that had passed the trio as they talked had wanted to know what they were talking about to the youngest brother. For the first time in many people's lives, they wished that they could understand Parseltongue.

{Honestly, I think things are going much better than we thought it would at this point. Sure we still have a lot to do, but, I think that we have already had a huge influence on the marauders and the Slytherins in our group. Also a small amount of influence on the other students. I saw a second year Slytherin helping a first year Hufflepuff with a Charms question at lunch. That is not the only time I have noticed the houses interacting, and we have only been here for two weeks.} Hermione had a bounce in her step as she continued down the hall while contemplating the changes that had started with minimal effort on their parts.

{Right. I guess it is a good thing that the Wizarding world is so full of sheep then.} Harry just blinked as Hermione stopped and stared at him. Draco was smirking. {Well, it's true. We have barley done anything, and they are all being…sheep like. I thought we would at least have to hex someone.}

Hermione sighed and smiled as she shook her head. {Oh Harry. They are not sheep. They just are responding to a good example.}

{Hermione, they are a bit sheep-like.} Draco was still smirking.

{No Draco. I think that when they could see how they were acting through someone's eyes that they had never met before, they were able see themselves clearly. I think that they are thinking for themselves for the first time. I am surprised that it took so little, but I think that they are actually allowing themselves to form their own opinions.}

{I hope you are right, Hermione. I would hate to have to continually go back in time and be a good example so that people could think for themselves.} Harry smiled cheekily as Hermione cuffed him on the back of the head.

They finally made their way to the Potions classroom, but still had five minutes before class started. With the tables set up so that there was only two to a table, Draco took an empty table in the back while Harry and Hermione grabbed the table in front of him. The trio's study group came in right behind them and spread out. Westley, Tonya, and Angus came in together and grabbed a table in the same row as Draco, with Angus joining him.

Horace Slughorn came in and was preparing to begin his lecture when he paused and blinked. He had never seen anything like he was seeing now. Apparently he was not alone as three Hufflepuffs, a Ravenclaw and a Gryffindor were also looking around in shock.

"Man, what's going on?" Angus leaned closer to whisper to Draco. The room was so quiet that the whisper carried throughout the room. Horace just raised his brows and smiled as the classroom just looked at the boy in confusion, not even realizing the storm they had caused.

"Now class, today we will be beginning our term projects. You will be working with a partner, who is sitting at your table." He paused, expecting someone to complain, but heard nothing but the scratching of quills. "Each of you will have to decide on a potion that you will write a essay on its history, its composition, the process used to create it, any weaknesses in the potion, and how it may be improved. You will also brew the potion beginning next month, please keep in mind that your potion needs to be finished before the end of term, and you may need to give yourself time to restart if you make a mistake. You will only be allowed to choose from the potions that take at least two weeks if not more to brew from chapter fourteen of your books. Each of you will have to choose different potions; no two can be the same. Please begin to decide on your potions." Horace sat at his desk to make note of the pairs and to keep an eye out for any trouble.

 _Potion Project Teams: Fall Term 1977: Seventh Years_

 _Severus Snape/Selena Abbot_

 _Theodore Nott/Remus Lupin_

 _Bellatrix Black/Sirius Black_

 _Harry Peverell/Hermione Peverell_

 _Lily Evans/James Potter_

 _Lucius Malfoy/Amy Flower_

 _Draco Peverell/Angus Buchanan_

 _Westley Hudson/Tonya Gudgeon_

 _Helen Birchwood/Gregory Lyleson_

Once he had written each pairing down, Horace pulled out a stack of essays that needed to be graded. It was one of the things he could do from his desk while keeping an eye on his classroom. He was soon paying more attention to the students in front of him than to the essays he had meant to mark.

"Hey Snape," Severus looked up at the yell from Sirius Black. Bellatrix was also looking towards him. "Do you think that we would do better to choose Angel's Trumpet Draught or The Dragon Tonic?"

"I would suggest that you two do the Restoration Potion on the last page of the chapter. It is just as challenging and takes the same amount of time as the others, but does not have any ingredients that you could accidentally cause an explosion with."

Both Blacks nodded and wrote down their choice to be submitted and settled down to read the information provided in the book.

"Oh let's do the Angel's Trumpet Draught." Amy turned to Lucius who quickly read over the potion information.

"I think that we could handle that one." Lucius agreed while making notes

"Hey Severus, I have some Bulbadox Juice if you would like to try the Twilight Moonbeams Potion." Hermione offered with a smile. It was one of the potions that normally was not chosen as Bulbadox Juice was not normally in the student stores. After a short conversation with Selena, they decided that it would make a good potion to use for the project.

Harry and Hermione decided on the Scintillation Solution while Draco and Angus chose the Oculus Potion. The ones that had already decided leaned over their desks to help the others find something quickly. None were more surprised than Helen Birchwood and Gregory Lyleson of Ravenclaw. They just stared dumbly as Lucius conferred with Amy about witch potion would be the best fit for the two smart Ravenclaws. Lucius finally made a decision for the duo.

"Draco, do you have any extra Howlet's Wing you could part with?" Lucius asked from across the room.

"Sure, we have plenty if they need to restart as well." Draco informed the blond.

"Perfect, then you two should do the Mopsus Potion. It's a bit challenging, but you two normally do pretty well on the potions we have to do. This should give you both a challenge and be interesting." Lucius turned the book towards the duo so that they could see and then just looked at them expectantly causing Amy to giggle.

By the end of the first hour, Horace was surprised to see everyone stand and make their way to his desk. He had been sure that he was having some sort of hallucination. Soon everyone had turned in their choices and had them approved. Theo and Remus had chosen to do a Lung Clearing Potion, Lily and James had decided on the Vitamix Potion after conferring with Severus and Hermione on their opinion, and Westley and Tonya decided on the Wound-Cleaning Potion.

Horace simply approved all the choices and told them that they could spend the remainder of the hour in the Library working on their research and that they would be meeting in the Library Classroom for the next month to facilitate their research into their chosen potions. It normally took most of the first month of the project for everyone to have chosen a potion that he approved of. Most teams could not agree on what to submit and then would have to continually change their minds as someone else would have already claimed the potion. But, today he had just witnessed, not only the oddest pairings he could imagine, but the teams helping each other decide on a potion so that they could go ahead and get started.

 _Minerva is not going to believe this._ Horace locked up his classroom an hour early and made his way to the teachers' lounge, where he found Minerva, Pomona, and Septima, the Arithmancy professor.

"Horace? What are you doing here so early? Don't you have a Potions class right now?" Septima's questions brought everyone's attention to him.

"I did. We started on the term projects today, so I sent them all to the Library to research their potions." He settled himself into an overstuffed armchair.

"Already?" Minerva smirked as she took a sip of hot tea. "I suppose that you decided that it was in your best interest to assign potions this year instead of letting the hoodlums spend weeks fighting over them?"

Horace was still a bit befuddled. "Actually, they all chose their own potions. I approved them and sent them on their way." The other teachers blinked in his direction.

"All of them?" Horace nodded at Septima. "How in Merlin's name did that happen?"

"I am actually not sure. I thought I would have to take someone to the Hospital when I realized how they were paired off. I was sure that I was seeing things for a while. Especially when they started helping each other."

Pomona set her cup of tea down and turned fully towards Horace. "What do you mean you thought that you were seeing things?"

"None of them were sitting within the normal house boundaries. Well except for Messrs. Draco Peverell, Buchanan, Hudson, Lyleson and Misses Gudgeon and Birchwood. For Merlin's sake, Bellatrix and Sirius Black were sitting together…and I did not pair them off!" Horace was relieved that the other teachers were staring at him in shock. He was not the only one that found this strange. "And then, Lucius Malfoy, who paired with Amy Flower, basically chose a potion for Birchwood and Lyleson…Sirius Black asked Severus Snape for his OPINION!"

Minerva blinked at the portly professor from her position across the lounge. _Surely I heard that wrong._ After double checking that Horace looked like he believed what he had just said, she decided to get to the bottom of this new development. They had all seen the houses interacting and had heard that there were inter house study groups, but Sirius Black asking Severus Snape for help was just unbelievable. "Well, I don't know about you, but I would like to see what is going on in that Library."

Minerva stood and made her way out of the room, closely followed by the others. They were careful not to rush so that they would not draw attention to themselves. Once at the Library they made their way over to the desk of Madam Shoal, who was calmly reading a Magical Publications magazine while ignoring the large group in the middle of the Library.

The teachers stared at the students from the potions class in shock as Severus Snape pulled a book out of Sirius Black's hands with a look of distaste and then pulled the un-protesting boy into the stacks. They returned with Black holding two books in his arms while listening intently to Snape as he explained something. They quickly rejoined their corner of the table with Selena and Bellatrix and began to pour over their tomes. Bellatrix and Sirius would periodically ask Severus or Selena a question about their potion.

Lucius was studying intently with Amy and conversing with the befuddled Ravenclaws that that had been pulled into the study group with the trio's roommates who were doing a little bit better at dealing with the oddity of studying in peace with the Slytherins and marauders. They had already been exposed to the trio's views on treating everyone equally.

The teachers stood in amazement as they watched the group interact. Finally, madam Shoal noticed them standing at her desk.

"Oh, I am so sorry; I did not see you standing there. What can I help you with?" She placed her magazine to the side as she followed the gazes of the teachers to the group in the middle of the Library.

Pomona was the first to drag her attention from the students. Pardon us, Madam Shoal, we just wanted to check on that group and make sure that there was no need to interfere."

"Oh, don't worry about it Professor. Are you talking about the large group in the middle there?" She pointed in their direction. When the other professors nodded she smiled. "Ah, I see. Well, no need to worry then. They have been coming in together since the beginning of term and have caused no problems. Some of them come in in smaller groups, but the core group seems to remain the same, even though it looks like they picked up some extras today. They have been no trouble."

The other teachers just blinked at her for a moment before nodding and leaving the Library with one last glance at the students. They slowly made their way back to the Teacher's Lounge while contemplating the marauders and Slytherins spending time together voluntarily.

Once they had settled back in to their chairs, Minerva started to smile. "This is a good thing." She whispered as she took her cup of tea back up from the end table beside her chair. She continued to smile into her cup for the rest of her free period.

Regulus and Narcissa Black made their way to the Library to work on their homework during their free period, only to stop in shock in the doorway. They looked at each other to make sure that they were not seeing things before slowly making their way to the large group working together in the middle of the Library. Regulus came to a stop right behind Bellatrix and his brother with Narcissa staying a step behind.

"Um. Bellatrix?"

Bellatrix and Sirius both swung around. "Yes, Reg? Do you have a free?" Bellatrix smiled when Regulus nodded.

"Um, I wanted to see if you would go over my Defense essay tonight." Regulus was looking between his cousin and his brother while speaking.

"Sure. I should be in the common room by eight." She looked to the others while saying the time, causing both Regulus and Narcissa's eyebrows to rise to their hairlines. Yes, eight, look for me then okay?"

Regulus nodded and made to move away when a hand on his arm stopped him.

"Hey Reg, Mother and Father wanted me to pass on to you that we are meeting them for tea at two o'clock on Mabon, probably at the Three Broomsticks. Make sure that you don't forget. Bellatrix probably won't mind giving you a reminder if I don't see you before then." Bellatrix nodded and smiled at the confused Regulus again.

"Wait, what?" Regulus was not sure what was going on, but he could not see why Bellatrix would play along with a prank like this. She knew how he felt about Sirius.

"Oh. I sent Mother and Father a letter last week and they just sent me a reply. So tea at two o'clock, Mabon. You are coming right?" Sirius looked pensive for a moment.

Regulus quickly nodded and agreed that he would be there before walking over to a table with Narcissa. He pulled out his books and parchment and then just stared at his book blankly.

"He wrote to Mother and Father." He finally whispered. Narcissa just smiled across the table at him. They watched as the group left the Library a little bit later, still conversing among themselves.

The trio was joined by the rest of their study group in the room Bellatrix had found in the dungeons. While Draco and Hermione finished setting up a potions table at the back of the room, the rest of the group spread out on the couches and pulled out their homework. Everyone seemed to decide to work on things other than their new Potions project so that they would not distract the three that would be working on the cure.

Severus quickly migrated over to Draco and Hermione and helped them finish setting up the table, before watching them cast protection wards to block that section of the room off from the rest. This would protect the others from any unfortunate accidents or fumes, while also protecting the potion by creating a clean room for them to work in.

"Are we still starting tonight? We will need to add the Acromantula Venom within the first few minutes of brewing."

"We are ready if you are. We have all of the ingredients that we need and have enough that we can start over if we really need to, and then have some for later too." Hermione smiled at the shocked look that spread across the normally stoic Severus's face.

"You already got Acromantula Venom and Basilisk Skin?"

"Yes. So are you ready to get started. Hermione set up a schedule for us to check on the potion while we are in classes. Can you look over it and make sure that it is alright with you?" Draco handed over a piece of parchment.

Looking it over, Severus tried to make sure that he did not look like an overeager child going to Honeydukes for the first time. "This looks alright to me. It works with my schedule, so I should have no problems getting down here to do my share."

The three spread out along the table and began to prep the more stable of the ingredients that they would be able to place in stasis until needed. Once they had placed all the ingredients in sealed containers, Hermione transfigured a cupboard to hold their ingredients and then warded it so that only the three of them would be able to open it.

After two hours, the potion was placed on a low flame to simmer for twelve hours. The three made their way over to the study group and collapsed onto the couches in exhaustion.

"Are you guys finished for the night?" Yes, although Hermione will come down and adjust the heat at one o'clock." Draco leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

"How are you going to manage not to get caught out after curfew?" Severus looked interested at Amy's question. He had not even thought about the fact that he would have to come check on the potion during the night sometimes.

"Oh, I will just disillusion myself and then cast odor and sound neutralizing Charms to avoid that awful cat. Severus, do you know how to do those spells?" When Severus shook his head she smiled. "That's alright, Harry here will have you doing all the spells needed to get here undetected before we head back to the rooms with no problem."

Harry grinned and pulled a surprised Severus over to an empty corner of the classroom. He was not surprised when everyone followed him a few minutes later, including an amused Hermione and Draco. The trio soon had the group casting the spells with little trouble.

"Alright then, just keep practicing when you have a free moment alone, and there you go." Harry grinned at the group before him. He loved teaching others.

"Where did you learn to do those spells? I don't think any of them are taught here at all." Lucius asked as he watched a grinning Sirius disappear.

"It is just something we picked up, probably in the equivalent of fifth year. Make sure that you use all of them together. It does not matter if you are invisible if you can be heard or smelled." Draco began to gather their things. "I think we are going to head to the common room now, I know Hermione wants to get some sleep before checking on the potion and I need to work on an Arithmancy essay."

"I have to go meet Regulus. He seemed happy when you told him about the tea you are having with your parents, Sirius." She smiled at her cousin. "I am too." She gave the startled boy a quick hug before grabbing her bag and darting out the door without another word. Sirius stared at the door with a bemused smile until Remus pulled him out of his thoughts.

After her quick departure, everyone slowly made their way back to the common rooms with the trio leaving the room last so that they could place some wards on the door. The wards would only allow entry to those that had been in the room within the last week. For everyone else, it would be as though there was a notice me not charm on the door, unless someone was lead to the room to key them in.

As Draco sat on his bed working on his homework, Harry laid on his bed scratching Charon's head as the snake hissed in contentment. It was amazing how much he was enjoying spending time with people that had spent most of his previous live trying to kill him. He fell asleep with a smile as he thought about what was coming; he could not wait to see Dumbledore's face.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: I am sorry this chapter took so long to get posted. I want to let everyone know that though Mabon is a real holiday, any traditions, rituals, or blessings are made up by me and only loosely based off of information I found online about the holiday.

I also want to say WOW. Thank you so much for all the reviews and the follows and favorites. I am overwhelmed by the response this story has received and I am so glad that so many people like the story. I realized today that this story has reached over 900 followers, 600 favorites, and over 350 reviews. You guys are awesome and really do inspire me to continue writing...so thank you.

Happy reading

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

{Parseltongue}

The trio joined their study group at the edge of the Black Lake and Forbidden Forrest before the sun rose on Mabon. There was excitement practically vibrating through the group as they gathered. Bellatrix and Selena pulled Amy and Lily onto a conjured blanket so that they could pull their hair back into Celtic knot braids. Once their hair was braided they placed fall leaves into their hair for decoration. Hermione stood behind Bellatrix and pulled her hair high on her hair in a messy bun that allowed her wild curls to escape. Once her hair had been secured, Hermione placed small white and dark red flowers around her curls. Amy and Lily watched as Bellatrix and Hermione traded places so that Bellatrix could weave Hermione's hair into an intricate braid that was decorated with the same flowers that Hermione had used for Bellatrix's hair.

The boys made sure that they all had oak sprigs attached to their lapels. Remus smiled as Theo attached his sprig while welcoming him again to his family. Soon Bellatrix had pulled out some magical paint and a few paintbrushes. Everyone sat calmly as she painted acorns behind the boy's ears and small fall leaves at the corner of the girl's eyes. She had painted her own before leaving her dorm. She placed her paints and brushes away once she deemed them all prepared.

The group had been so focused; they did not realize that other teens had joined them outside for their own celebrations. Narcissa and Regulus had watched as they had prepared together near the tree line of the Forbidden Forrest. After everyone was prepared they slowly made their way closer to the group.

When Sirius saw his brother staring at him in bemusement, he smiled at his friends and picked up a spare oak sprig to attach to his brothers lapel before pulling him into the group. Bellatrix quickly pulled her sister closer to her so that she could make sure that she was properly prepared.

Lucius opened a basket that he and Theo had prepared and passed out pomegranates and apples to everyone in their group. Those that had never participated in the Mabon ritual made sure to copy everything that the others were doing as they turned to the east and held their fruit in both hands, as if in offering.

As the first rays of light broke across the sky voices rose across the silent grounds. The few that had never heard the blessing closed their eyes as the voices and magic swept across their skin like a breeze.

 _In light and darkness_

 _We ask Magic bless this Mabon_

 _Bless my house and all that dwell within_

 _Let my family grow and bind together_

 _Where there was none, let there be joy_

 _Where there was none, let there be love_

 _Where there was none, let there be hope_

 _As the seasons change_

 _We ask that Magic bless our houses_

 _So mote it be_

Once the last word was spoken, the fruit was split into halves by the magic of the blessing. Everyone would eat half of their fruit, be it pomegranate or apple, and they would then leave the second beside the forest in thanks.

Lily smiled as she sat her half of pomegranate on the ground and turned to the others. "That was…amazing. I could feel the magic as though it was a living thing."

Amy nodded and closed her eyes. "I have never felt so in touch with my magic. It feels like the first time I held my wand."

Theo closed his eyes and turned his face towards the sun as he explained. "Most of the traditions we follow on the old holidays bring us closer to our magic and help us to connect to our core in one way or another. I did not know that the information about the tradition was so difficult to find. The only thing Dumbledore has said about why we don't celebrate the old holidays as a school is that it would make the muggleborn uncomfortable."

Lucius grimaced as they began to walk back towards the castle. "I don't know how much longer we will even be able to celebrate them while at Hogwarts. He has already made it so that the only holidays that are celebrated as a school are the muggle ones. The teachers don't even participate now, but my father said that when he was here, the celebrations would last for the whole day. The families even came to celebrate with their children or the children would be allowed to go home for the rituals to strengthen the wards."

"That is horrible." Lily whispered as they reached the castle. The group spilt apart at the Great Hall to eat their breakfasts at their house tables. Everyone was eating foods traditional to the holiday; breads, nuts, fruits and vegetables.

The trio watched as their friends talked with their housemates from their own table as they chatted with their roommates. Lily was proudly showing her roommates her hair while the marauders joked around from their places at the table. They did not even notice when Peter came in and glared in their direction before sitting further down the table.

Hermione and Harry explained where they had gone so early in the morning to their roommates that had not known about the holiday. After a brief explanation of the ways that Mabon could be celebrated, a few of the students pushed away their plates of sausage and pancakes to eat the more traditional foods of Mabon. Their roommates all decided to join them for the last ritual of the day.

The trio followed their friends out of the Great Hall to meet for their trip to Gringotts. Draco was the only one that looked at the head table and saw the cold blue gaze the headmaster was aiming at anyone that looked like they were participating in any type of Mabon celebrations. Even the teachers did not seem to notice the glare that he aimed at a first year that was handing out wildflowers to her classmates with a sweet smile.

* * *

The walk to Hogsmeade was filled with happy chatter from the group. Harry talked to James, Theo and Lucius about the team practices they had been having. Draco was walking along with Selena and Severus while talking about the potion that they were working on to cure Remus. Severus could not hide his excitement over the potion as he explained the steps that they had already taken to the attentive girl. Lily, Amy and Bellatrix were talking about hair and fashion while Sirius walked beside Hermione, stealing glances at the girl every few minutes.

"So, Sirius, are you normally this quiet?" Hermione smirked at the startled boy beside her.

"No, not really." Sirius finally stuttered. "I guess I am just trying to figure out what to talk about with you." He shot a grin towards the girl, hoping that she would at least give him a hint about what she would like to talk about.

Hermione smiled as she looked at Sirius. She was surprised to find that there was a light blush staining his cheeks. "Well, Sirius, I will talk about anything, even if you want to talk about Quidditch." Her smile deepened as she noticed that his blush deepened as she said his name.

"How do you like being at Hogwarts so far? Is it much different from being homeschooled by your father?" He felt proud that he finally thought of something to ask the girl.

"Oh yes. It is a lot different. We never were lonely or anything, but it is nice to be around so many people now. I wish that there were more classes offered of course, but I suppose that I can study somethings on my own." She laughed at the incredulous look that Sirius was giving her when she mentioned that there should be more classes. "Oh, come on Sirius, haven't you ever wanted to study Warding or Enchanting? Anything that is not offered here?"

"I suppose that Warding could be interesting. But that is something that you do after NEWTs."

"Hn. You know that they were offered here as full classes until around 1960, right?" She was not surprised at the startled look that she got from not only Sirius, but the girls walking in front of them too. Apparently they had been interested in the interaction between the two of them. "There are so many unused classrooms, but that was not always true. There are many classes that are no longer offered at Hogwarts."

Sirius looked closely at Hermione as he held the door open for the Three Broomsticks. "They really used to offer those classes at Hogwarts?" She nodded at his question. "You're serious?" He was not sure if he was asking a question or making a statement.

"No silly, you are." She laughed as she swept past him and joined the others in grabbing a pinch of floo power.

Sirius barked a laugh as he followed Hermione over to a giggling Bellatrix, Lily and Amy. Bellatrix nudged him in his side as she grinned at him playfully. One by one they disappeared into the green flames as they called out Diagon Alley.

* * *

The group entered Gringotts and stopped in the entry way in shock at the crowded room before them. Draco had made sure to send a note to the Goblins about their intentions to come on Mabon to have a few Legacy tests done, but he had not expected so many of the families they had written to show up to the testing. After passing through an almost empty alley, seeing a full bank was a bit of a shock to the students.

Abraxas Malfoy had journeyed to the bank to take care of estate business that could not wait and was surprised to find the bank full. Walking over to Orion Black, who was standing with his wife and the Lastrange family, he quietly inquired as to why so many people were out and about during Mabon. He was unable to hide his momentary shock when he learned that they were all here to see if some of his son's classmates were related to them. His shock increased when he observed his entering the bank with a large group of other students. He raised a brow when he saw his son tuck a nervous girls hand through his elbow. His other brow joined the first when he followed the gaze of Walburga after hearing her gasp. Bellatrix was with the group, but was standing beside and whispering to a smiling Sirius. _This is not what I was expecting when I decided to come to the bank today._

The group walked forward to meet Brodlig. The trio bowed their heads to the Goblin and spoke in unison. "May your gold increase and you enemies be destroyed."

The gathered families and students that had been using Gringotts for years were shocked when the Goblin returned the bow and replied. "And may your wealth increase and your enemies obliterated. I have everything ready for the tests that we will be conducting today. I have decided to have the tests done in one of our larger conference rooms so that the gathered families can see the results."

The trio nodded together and followed the Goblin with their group following behind. The families all followed behind the students. Most of the families and students had never been so far into the bank and so were looking around in interest. The room they were led too had a table in the middle of the room and chairs arranged around the room for those viewing the proceedings.

"Now, would those that will be taking the test today take a seat at the table, and everyone else please sit in the chairs provided. We will go one by one. We will be conducting two tests for each person in question. The first will be a Legacy Test that will show the family history and any living family connections, the second will be the Inheritance Test that will show what vaults and estates are owned, if any. I will be able to tell you if you gain a title from these tests. Does everyone understand?" When everyone nodded he continued. "Who will be first?"

When the girls hesitated and looked around at the gathered families, Severus took a deep breath and spoke up from his place around the table. "I will go first." Lily and Amy both sent him small smiles to show their thanks in him going first.

"So be it." Brodlig placed a large piece of parchment across the table and pulled out a bowl with a potion already inside. "Place seven drops of blood in the potion." Once Severus had pricked his finger on the knife provided, Brodlig swirled the potion in the bowl before spreading the liquid across the parchment. Severus was surprised that the Goblin version of the Legacy Potion was done so differently and could not help but wonder what the potion they used was composed of.

Everyone, including Abraxas Malfoy, leaned forward to watch the family tree appear on the parchment. The adults all gasped as they realized that this boy was the grandson of Virgil Prince. The students that were sitting together against the wall all smiled at the reactions of the adults and watched as the Goblin set up the next test by placing another bowl on the table beside a smaller piece of parchment.

"Place seven drops again into this bowl." Severus did not hesitate to prick his finger again and allow another seven drops to flow from his hand into another potion. The Goblin the picked up one of three quills he had set aside and placed the tip into the potion. The quill sucked up the potion and then was placed onto the parchment where it began to write.

 **Severus Tobias Snape**

 **Born: January 9, 1960**

 **Father: Tobias Franklin Snape Mother: Eileen Elizabeth Prince**

 **Vaults Owned:**

 **Vault 109: 300,000 Galleons; 152,365 Sickles; 95,300 Knuts**

 **Vault: 110: Family heirlooms. Value: unknown**

 **Estates Owned:**

 **Prince Manor**

"Congratulations Lord Prince. You are now the head of the Ancient and Noble house of Prince. Place this ring on your right hand." Severus placed the ring on his finger and blinked at his hand when it flashed as it resized. "Very good. Now these are the new keys to your vaults and this bag and this card are keyed directly to your vault, you can use the card in both the Magical and Muggle world." Severus nodded his understanding as he took the items from the Goblin and sat back in his chair with copies of the test held securely in his hands.

"Who will be next?" Brodlig asked as he sat another large parchment across the table. He nodded as Lily held up her hand to indicate that she would be next. Once again the room watched as blood was added to the potion before it was spread across the parchment. A few families stood so that they could see the parchment better but did not move forward so as not to irritate the Goblins in the room. Walburga tightened her grip on her husband's arm as they saw the name of Bertrand Black show up on the family tree. The Belby and Longbottoms that had shown up just blinked as they witnessed their family names appear on the tree that was spreading across the parchment. Perenelle squeezed Nicolas's hand as Adelaide Flamel's name appeared. Nicolas closed his eyes as a tear escaped to fall down his cheek.

The next test was completed quickly.

 **Lily Marie Evans**

 **Born: January 30, 1960**

 **Father: Joseph Gregory Evans Mother: Rosemarie Violet Smithwick**

 **Vaults Owned:**

 **Vault 365: 295 Galleons; 635 Sickles; 3,200 Knuts**

Lily accepted a key, money pouch and card from the Goblin without really processing what was happening. She already realized that she had living family, but had never expected that there would be anything physical for her to inherit.

"Now, though you do not currently hold a title, you are the heir to the Noble House of Flamel unless another heir is provided." Lily quickly looked from the Goblin and met the blue gaze of Nicolas. She blushed and looked quickly back to her lap where she was holding the copies of her tests and her new items that would grant her access to a vault at the bank. She accepted the heir ring with one more quick glance at the Flamels and placed it on her finger with small smile at the couple that nodded their approval.

Brodlig set laid the next large parchment across the table for the last set of tests for the day and handed a dagger to Amy who looked at Lucius before pricking her finger. Abraxas looked from his son and back to the girl as he pondered what may be between the two teenagers. He looked on with interest as the tree began to appear and the familiar names of Lastrange and Greengrass appeared along with the names of the Tuft and Ross families. His brows disappeared into his hairline as the name Angus Dedworth appeared on the parchment. The adults around the room did not bother to hide their gasps at the appearance of one of the Thirteen. The room watched with baited breath as the second test was conducted.

 **Amy Lynn Flowers**

 **Born: March 17, 1960**

 **Father: William Robert Flowers Mother: Barbara Joyce Dunn**

 **Vaults Owned:**

 **Vault 17: 1.2 Million Galleons; 960,360 Sickles; 2.3 Million** **Knuts**

 **Vault: 18: Family heirlooms. Value: unknown**

 **Estates Owned:**

 **Dedworth Manor**

 **Dedworth Cottage**

"Congratulations Lady Dedworth. These are your keys, your card and money pouch that will connect to your vaults. Please place this ring on your right hand." Amy smiled as her ring flashed and re-sized. She had known that there would be some type of Estate to inherit but was a bit overwhelmed at her new-found wealth. She was ecstatic to know that she owned her own house though, and would never have to return to her family where they would try and 'cure' her.

"I will be sending notifications to the Minister. She has been requiring verification through our bank for each of the seats. Lady Dedworth and Lord Prince have both inherited your family seats." Both Severus and Amy nodded as they had already been told by the Peverells that they would need to request information on any votes that had been made in their family names while their families should have been dormant. "This room is available to you for the next hour." The Goblin then nodded to the trio before leaving the room with the other Goblins.

Lily was being hugged by James when she felt a light touch on her elbow. She turned and found herself in front of Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel, a grinning Frank Longbottom standing with his mother and a couple that looked a lot like Sirius.

"Hello cousin." Frank hugged the redheaded girl before him. "I cannot tell you how surprised we were when we received your letter.

Sirius laughed as he joined the older boy. "We were surprised when we did the tests. Lily, let me introduce you to my mother and father, the Head of the House of Black. He was looking at the couple a little unsurely but smiled when they nodded their heads at the introduction.

"Thank you Sirius. Lily was it?" When Lily nodded, Walburga stepped forward and removed a bracelet comprised of flowers and acorns from her wrist and placed the bracelet on the stunned girls wrist. "As Lady of the House of Black, I welcome a lost cousin to the family. Blessed Mabon, my dear." She stepped away from the girl and turned her attention to her son. After a moment where they could only stare at each other, she reached out and adjusted the oak sprig that was attached to his lapel. "I trust we will be seeing you later with your brother for tea?" When Sirius nodded she allowed a small smile to slip across her normally emotionless face. "Happy Mabon, my son." The Blacks nodded to their son and to their new cousin before leaving the room.

Bellatrix watched the interaction from across the room where she stood with Lucius and Amy. She was relieved that Sirius seemed to be reconnecting with the family. She turned her attention back to the group she was standing with as the Lastranges introduced themselves to Amy. She smirked at the expression on Lucius's face when Rabastan kissed Amy's hand.

"I am so pleased to meet you, my dear." Rupert Lastrange said as he greeted the new member of his family. "I want to make sure that you know that you can turn to us if you are ever in need. Nothing is more important than family, and you now seem to have many more members of yours." He gestured with one hand to the heads of the Houses of Tuft and Ross who had already introduced themselves to the overwhelmed girl. The other Heads of Houses nodded their agreement.

Abraxas pulled Lucius to the side for a moment. Abraxas did not miss how Lucius barley took his eyes off of the new Lady Dedworth. "Son, I was surprised to see you in the Alley today. What brought all this on?"

"Oh, well Father, the Peverells mentioned a theory about magic having to come from somewhere and that muggleborns may not have much muggle in their family trees, so we had Severus brew a Legacy Potion and found out that they were right." Lucius stole another glance at Amy, who was talking to Victor Ross at the moment.

"I see." He looked again from his son to the girl that was holding his interest. "Am I correct that you are planning on pursuing her?"

His father's blunt question caused his son's attention to finally snap back to his amused father. "I have thought about it." He was hesitant with his reply as he studied his father.

"I suppose that I can hold off on trying to arrange a marriage for you then. It would probably not be easy to arrange anything as she grew up with muggles and is technically the head of her own house. I trust that you will make sure that your mother and I have the chance to get to know the girl at some point?" He smirked at his stunned son before nodding and making his way out of the room with calculating glances at Amy Flower, Lady Dedworth and the Peverells. _So those three are the Peverell siblings that appeared at Hogwarts. I suppose that I should have made the connection from my son's letter to the three mysterious teens that I saw before the start of term._ Abraxas left the bank without sparing another thought for the business that had brought him to the bank that morning.

Lucius shook himself out of his stunned stupor and made his way back towards Amy. He smirked at the comment he heard while passing the Nott family and Remus, who was blushing.

"So, you are my Matilda's furry Gryffinpuff?" Benjamin smiled at the blushing boy in front of him. His son snorted as his grandson just smiled widely at the glare that Remus aimed at him. Theo had continued to call him a furry Gryffinpuff and apparently spread it to his family.

"Yes Sir." Remus muttered with another blush. He was startled when the eldest Nott gripped his arms and pulled him into a strong hug. He stared at Theo with wide eyes over the elder man's shoulder while patting the man on the back awkwardly.

"Theo had told us everything. Know this, family is everything and you are our family." Benjamin pulled the boy away from himself by the shoulders so that he could look into the boy's eyes as he spoke. He pulled the boy back into a hug when Remus started to blink faster as his eyes watered at the acceptance. Theodore Jr and Sr looked on with smiles as the eldest Nott held his sister's grandson.

The trio stood with Severus and Selena as they watched the families greet one another for the first times. Selena sniffed as she watched the Notts while the Peverells were watching Lily's first interaction with the owner of the Philosophers stone.

Nicolas looked at the beautiful girl before him and swallowed at the overwhelming emotion that threatened to smother him. "You have my sister's eyes, my dear. I have never seen anyone with eyes as green as Adelaide until now."

Lily smiled at her many great times great uncle at the information about her eyes. She was the only one in her family with green eyes and had always wondered where she had gotten them from. Petunia had always hated that she had plain brown eyes while Lily had beautiful green eyes.

* * *

After the hour was over, the gathered families and students parted ways with Mabon blessings given and promises to start sending letters between the new family members. The thirteen students made their way back to Hogsmeade where they spent the rest of the day shopping and talking.

It was almost Sunset when students again gathered near the edge of the Forbidden Forrest and the Black Lake. This time the students faced towards the West.

The study group was joined by the trio's roommates, who were a little shocked at seeing the thirteen joking and messing around as they prepared for the ritual. It had been shocking in Potions, but was even more so outside of class where they had to spend time together.

The Hufflepuffs relaxed as the Slytherin students made sure that they were facing the correct direction and that they had apples and pomegranates in their hands.

"Now, magic will again split the fruit during the ritual. Eat half and then the other half is for an offering of thanks. While eating your half of the fruit, spend time thinking about something that you are most thankful for magic providing." Bellatrix paused when she saw the confused expression of Westley Hudson, who was one that had grown up in the Muggle world. "For instance, you could be thankful for the chance to learn magic at Hogwarts, or for your talent in a specific branch of magic like Transfiguration. None of that would be possible without Magic. Just go with your instincts." She smiled when Westley nodded that he understood.

The sun sent streaks of almost every color across the sky as the students across the ground of Hogwarts raised their voices together once more.

 _In darkness and light_

 _We thank Magic for blessing this Mabon_

 _Bless my house and all that dwell within_

 _Let my family grow and bind together_

 _Where there was none, now there is joy_

 _Where there was none, now there is love_

 _Where there was none, now there is hope_

 _As the seasons change_

 _We think Magic for blessing our houses_

 _So mote it be_

The grounds fell silent as magic swept through the students who began to eat half of the fruit that they had held, each lost in thought as they contemplated the blessings that had come from Magic.

Sirius Black ate his half of a green apple slowly as he thought about his day. He had gone to the Three Broomsticks and met with his family for the first time-out side of that morning at the bank- in over a year. It was the first time they had really spoken at all since he had started Hogwarts seven years ago.

His family had never been every emotional and he could not remember ever seeing his mother cry. He had been shocked when his mother had started to cry as he apologized for not talking to them and told them that he thought they hated him for being in Gryffindor. She had just covered her mouth and started to cry while trying desperately to stop the sobs from escaping. He had just stood beside his brother-who had been sniffing and looking at the floor-until his mother had grabbed him and pulled him into her arms. He was taller than she was, so he held his mother as she cried into his shoulder.

Once they had all regained their composure, his mother had straightened his clothes and cast a cleaning charm over the two of them so that there would be no evidence of the tears that had been shed. His parents then hugged both of their sons before telling Sirius that they expected him home for the Holiday Break.

He finished the apple with one thought ringing through his mind as he placed the other half of his apple on the ground with the others. _I'm thankful that my family still loves me._


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: I know my author notes are always similar, but it just has to be said. THANK YOU guys so much for the reviews, follows and favorites. you guys amaze me after every chapter with your response. This story has hit over 100,000 hits now and has over 400 reviews and almost 1,000 followers. Thank you so much for reviewing an letting me know that you like the story.

As always, if you have a question, please let me know. I will do my best to respond through pm.

Happy Reading

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

{Parseltongue}

The night of the full moon passed with little notice for most of the students. The marauders spent their time in the Shrieking Shack with Remus, hoping that it would be one of the last times that he would have to go through the change. Peter had gone with them and had asked the three other marauders about their plans for after school and about the Peverells.

James, Sirius and Remus all found themselves thankful when the moon rose and they no longer had to speak to the little rat. Once the change occurred, Mooney was in control and so Remus no longer had to think about Peter and his questions. Sirius and James however, thought about the questions throughout the night. Peter had never really been interested in their home lives or their plans for after school, nor had he shown any interest in getting to know the Peverells. They were completely uncomfortable at his new-found interest in them and did not want to share any personal information with the boy they found they did not know at all.

The next morning found four very tired Gryffindors, two exhausted Hufflepuffs and one strangely exhilarated Slytherin.

As Hermione leaned against Draco while hiding a yawn behind her hand, she looked over at the Slytherin table and could practically see Severus vibrating with energy. "I want to smack him on the head with something extremely hard. How on earth is he so…awake?"

The three of them had spent hours working together on the Cure Potion during the night. The steps that had to be taken on the nights of the full moon were extensive and difficult. They were lucky that they had not made any mistakes on the Master Level potion.

"He was always like that when he was older. He would start to work on a new potion and would stay up for days without having any kind of stimulant or potion to keep him awake. He just loved potions that much. I am not that surprised to see that he was like that while still in school." Draco smiled a bit before he too had to hide a yawn.

The students looked up as owls swooped in to deliver the morning mail. The trio noticed that both Severus and Amy received boxes that they knew from experience would contain their paperwork and rings for the Wizengamot. They would probably pull their own paper work out while the group met in the room they had claimed in the dungeons.

They were surprised when an eagle stately owl landed in front of Draco and held its leg out for him to take the letter. The owl flew away as soon as the letter had been removed. Draco turned the envelope over and fingered the familiar crest that had been pressed into the green wax. It was the Malfoy crest.

Looking at his siblings, he opened it and smirked. He passed the invitation to the Samhain ball to his siblings as he began to plot.

{Harry, we will need to make a copy of the Diary so that Abraxas will have no reason to think it has disappeared. I know that he had it while my father was still in school, so it should be in the manor. I already know where he should keep the more valuable or Dark items.} He then looked at Hermione closely. {Will you be able to go? We can wait until Yule, I am sure that we will be invited to many balls through the Yule season, so we can put it off if you need more time.}

Draco knew that Hermione's memories of the manor were just as bad as the ones he had. Harry was only slightly more composed when they would talk about Malfoy Manor. Harry was also looking at Hermione for any signs of distress.

{Strangely enough, I think I will be okay. Being here, in this time and getting to know everyone before they made the choices they did in our timeline…I don't know…it just helps. I don't think that Bellatrix or Lucius, or any of them really, will make the same choices now. I was worried that I would still be afraid of them by the time we had to face going back to the manor, but now I can only think about the fact that Bellatrix wants me to sit for a painting and braids my hair.}

The boys both smiled and sat back a bit on the benches as they thought about what Hermione was saying. Both of them realized that they also felt much more relaxed in this time period and that they were no longer thinking of the Death Eaters they had fought in the past as being the enemy, with the exception of Peter.

Harry looked over at the Gryffindor table and narrowed his eyes as he saw the boy looking frustrated as he watched the other marauders. He would have to keep an eye on him now. It looked like he was already resenting the others and he was probably looking for information to take back to the Dark Lord if he was already marked like they expected.

He had not come to Hogwarts with any definitive plans for taking care of the rat, and was unsure of what they should do with him. {Hey guys, what should we do about Peter. We have not had a chance to keep an eye on him like we planned yet. He looks like he is already willing to turn on the others at the drop of a hat, and I don't want to risk him taking any information that could be harmful to Voldemort. I think it was this year that my grandparents died; Peter could have been involved if he is marked.}

Hermione turned her attention to the Gryffindor table. {Hn. I think we should question him. Draco, did you brew any Veritaserum before we came to school?} She knew that he had stocked up on many random potions on the off chance that they would need them.

{I did. Do you want to use it on him to find out if he is going to be a problem?}

{As much as I would like to think everyone can be saved, Harry is right, we should not take the chance. We can track him with the maps and get him alone. If we ward the room right, when he turned back into a rat, he will not be able to get out. I found a ward that should work in one of the restricted books. We can stun him at that point and leave him as a rat. The question is what we do with him if he is already working for Voldemort.}

{If he is already working for Voldemort, then his life if forfeit.} Harry sighed as he thought about having to actually kill someone. They had talked about it before they came back to Hogwarts, but it did not make it easier now that they may actually have to deal with someone that they would not be able to save.

{It will need to be on a weekend.} Draco saw the questioning looks on his sibling's faces. {We will be able to cover his disappearance if it is on a weekend. He could have just left and not come back.}

Harry and Hermione nodded and agreed that they would begin to track the boy with the map during their free time. Hopefully they would be able to get the boy alone before he had a chance to run to Voldemort with any information.

The Trio left the Great Hall with no one guessing what they had been hissing about. No one would ever suspect that the three Hufflepuffs could be so fierce and unyielding.

* * *

Dumbledore sat in his office after breakfast and glared at his paperwork. He had watched as the Peverell siblings had received invitations to the Samhain Ball that would be hosted by the Malfoys. He had recognized the envelopes as they were the same every year.

It was bad enough that the Peverell siblings had received invitations to the ball, but he had seen invitations being delivered to Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James Potter, Lily Evans, and Amy Flower of all people. Two mudbloods and three blood traitors. He had no idea how they had managed to get invitations when he had never been able to get one from Abraxas's grandfather while he was at school.

 _I just don't understand. Sirius, James and Remus looked excited about the ball. They should have gotten rid of the invitations immediately. After all I have done for them; this is the thanks I get. Maybe I should pull them aside and make sure that they are not being tempted by the Dark. I should be able to get them to fear associating with such a bad element._

Dumbledore un-wrapped a lemon drop and placed it in his mouth as he began to ponder the best ways to get the boys to do what he wanted.

 _Remus should be easiest. He is the most indebted to me since I allowed him into my school even though he is cursed. The boy should be easy to guilt into staying away from the Slytherins. Black…I will have to find out what is going on with that boy. He has been spending too much time with his cousin. Something has changed and I don't know what it is. It has to have something to do with that letter he received from his family. I thought I had that taken care of._

Dumbledore sighed as he thought about how difficult it was to keep people on the best paths for their lives. Sometimes it was so hard to get them to do what he wanted when it was clear that he knew best. He pulled out the file he had for drafts of legislation that would be presented to the Wizengamot. Looking over the new law he had drafted that prevented children from bringing bonded familiars to Hogwarts he contemplated whither or not it could be reworded any.

 _Hn. Maybe it is time to draft legislation that will prevent students from leaving the premises all if not for the Christmas break. I should be able to make it sound like there is a threat that would need to be addressed. What I really need for that to work though is for Tom to attack someone soon. That would make it so that the people need me more._

Shuffling through the papers, he made a few changes to the wording and set it aside to be presented at the first Wizengamot meeting in November. He really needed to get the Peverells back up here so that he could try and convince them that they needed his help in managing their estate.

Dumbledore pulled his wand out and looked at it closely for anything that could be causing it to malfunction. He was not able to feel the power from it that he had felt when he had gained it's loyally. If he did not know better, he would say he was no longer the master of the only hollow he had in his possession. He needed access to the Peverell library and if possible…their vaults.

* * *

The trio met up with their study group during their Potions period after lunch. They were going to be working on their potions projects. While they got settled in and pulled out their books to work on the essay portions of their assignments, they listened absently to the conversations going on around them.

All three looked up when they heard Helen Birchwood, one of the Ravenclaw students in their class, ask Amy and Lily about their new rings.

Lily was almost bouncing in her seat as she explained. "Mine is an heir ring. We were wondering what our family histories would show, and so Severus brewed a Legacy Potion for us. It turned out that we had magical family. I am related to Nicolas Flamel and will be spending my summer with him. He is my great something uncle and is so nice. He did not already have an heir, so that is why I have a ring." Lily looked at the ring with a smile. She had received a letter that morning from her new uncle inviting her to his home during the summer so that they could get to know each other. She was thrilled that she had family that would understand her.

Amy smiled at her friend before looking at the blinking expressions of the Ravenclaws. "Mine is actually a Head of House ring. I am the only one left from the main branch of my magical family. Though, I too found out that I have living magical relatives. We found out that there was very little muggle actually in our trees at all. It appears like we were descended from mostly Squibs."

"Are you serious?" Gregory Lyleson asked incredulously from his seat beside Helen.

Almost as one, Amy and Lily pointed to Sirius. "No, he is."

After a moment of silence, the table broke out in laughter. Sirius had his head resting on the table as he tried to regain his composure. Even the Slytherins were chuckling.

"It is the truth though. We went to Gringotts on Mabon and had the official tests done. It was wonderful. The families were there to meet us. It was one of the best days I have had in a long time." Amy spoke with a faraway expression on her face.

"Is there any chance you could brew the potion for me?" Helen asked Severus, who was sitting just down the table from her.

"There is no need. We still have six doses. I will bring you one and give it to you after dinner. Just add the seven drops of blood to it and you should have no problems. I will include the instructions for it. You may want to do it where you can have some privacy since it uses blood."

Helen smiled as she nodded at Severus that she understood.

"Could I get one of the doses from you? I don't know anything about my mother's family." Gregory asked and smiled when he received a positive answer.

"Hn." Lily looked thoughtful. "Mary Macdonald is muggleborn. I think she would love the chance to use the potion. May I have one for her Severus?"

"Of course, it is not like I plan on having my tree redone. That will leave three doses, anyone else that you can think of?" Severus looked around the table

Draco finally spoke up. "I think that I can actually use all three. I have two roommates, one is muggleborn and one halfblood, and then Hermione has a roommate that is halfblood. They should use the potions too."

"I will bring all of the extra doses at dinner then." Severus nodded and turned back to the book.

Hermione turned to Helen and Gregory. "Once you have been able to look at your family trees, if you have magical family listed, even if it is Squibs, you will have to go to Gringotts and have them perform the tests to see if you have any estates or vaults to inherit." Hermione explained when she just received blank looks from the two students. "They have many unclaimed vaults, so don't assume that there is no need. If you find that you are the new Head of a family, like Amy, you may have seats on the Wizengamot, you will need to send off to have any votes that had been made while your seat should have been vacant sent to you. We are actually dealing with that now and can help if you have questions about that type of thing."

"Make sure that you never give anyone access to you estates of vaults." Harry said while looking pointedly at Amy and Severus. "We forgot to advise you to be extremely careful. The Headmaster has already tried to gain access to ours, and I am afraid that he has made it a habit to help himself to valuables that the people he is 'helping' do not realize the value of."

"Surely not. I am sure that he was just trying to help. What makes you distrust him so much?" Helen looked confused. Her question gained the attention of the group that normally studied with the Peverells.

"There are a few things that make us distrust him. For one, we have seen the laws that he has been putting forth. It is hard to think well of a man that actually drafted the 'Squib Protocol.' Granted, he had someone else present it, but he wrote it. That one and others. It was not a very good read." Draco said with a wince as he thought about the law.

"Then there are the classes that have disappeared from Hogwarts since he has become Headmaster. I am fairly sure that some of the books have gone missing too." Hermione said sadly.

"He has also shown an inordinate amount of interest in our affairs and estate. There is no reason for him to take that kind of interest in _any_ student. As Headmaster, his duties should not bring him into contact with students unless they are being disciplined for something that the Heads of Houses cannot handle." Harry looked at the thoughtful looks on the faces of the others. Looking at Sirius, "Let me ask you this, when you received that letter from you parents Sirius, I saw the Headmaster watching you closely, has he ever given you any…advice…about your family?" He of course already knew the answer, but was gratified to see a look of horrified realization cross the boy's face.

"He did, right after I was sorted. He called me to his office and told me that it would probably be better if I let them contact me first since they would not be pleased I was in Gryffindor." He had thought about that conversation a few times since he had initiated contact with his family.

"Is there any reason for him to have involved himself in your life like that? Is he family, a godparent maybe?" Hermione asked while blinking innocently.

"I had never met him before that." Sirius whispered. The students were all frowning.

"Remus, has he ever made you feel like you should be grateful to him for letting you attend school here?" Remus blinked in shock at Helen's question. She smiled and shrugged. "Ravenclaw. Only an idiot would not know after having been your classmate for seven years." Gregory just smirked.

"Bloody hell, everyone knows." Remus whispered.

"Well, hopefully that will change soon, anyways answer the question. Has that old man made you feel like you owe him?" Theo had an angry look on his face as he looked at his cousin.

Remus thought about it and nodded. "There have been a few times that he has talked to me and reminded me that he had allowed me to come to the school. I always felt so grateful."

"And how many others has he allowed to attend the school?" Draco asked. Remus just stared blankly at the blond. "Did you know that he was in favor of the werewolf laws that would prevent them from getting jobs? I can let you read the laws that he has allowed to pass." He felt a little bad when he saw the hurt look on the Gryffindors face, but it had to be done. "You don't owe him anything, Remus. None of you have to let him have any say in your lives, he is after all, just your Headmaster."

"Quite frankly, I wouldn't trust him to look after a flobberworm for me." Hermione muttered as she looked back at her book.

"Do you see why we are telling you to be careful with your inheritances?" Harry looked around. "He seems to have his own agenda and you should not have to be a part of that, whatever it may be, if you do not want to. He has no right to 'help' you manage your estate. If you need help, ask family or friends that you trust completely. If there is no one that you trust that much, ask the Goblins. Be respectful, read up on their customs, and they will ensure that your money grows. They can also help you learn how to manage your estates."

"If you inherit an Estate, there may be portraits that you can ask too." Hermione smiled at Draco's comment. She had not thought about portraits at all.

The group sat in silence for a while. Most of them were just staring at their books while thinking about the conversation they had just had.

Remus was confused and hurt at the thought that the headmaster had probably been using him somehow. He just did not know what the Headmaster thought he could be used for. He looked up when Theo passed him a note. Theo was going to send a letter to his father and grandfather telling them what they expected the Headmaster had been trying to do. All of a sudden, Remus felt like he could breathe again. He knew that it would be alright because his family accepted him even while he was a werewolf and hopefully soon, even that would not be an issue. He did not need the Headmaster, so he would not worry about it. Remus smiled at Theo and went back to working on his essay.

Sirius was just staring at his parchment blankly. He could not help but think that there was some kind of sinister plot that the Headmaster was working on. _What kind of person tells a kid not to talk to his parents? I don't remember being afraid to write to them until after that conversation. Maybe I should write to Father about this._ Sirius about jumped out of his skin when he felt something brush against his shoulder. Looking to the right, he saw his cousin. She had brushed her shoulder against his to get his attention. Looking at Bellatrix, who was smiling at him as though she knew exactly what he was feeling, he could not help but brush his shoulder against hers in response.

Severus was looking at his new ring with a frown. He knew that the Headmaster would find out about him and Amy gaining their inheritances and becoming the Heads of their families once November First came. If the Peverells were right, the Headmaster would probably offer his help in managing his new Estate. Looking up he met the determined gaze of Amy. They both nodded. Neither of them would allow the Headmaster to try and control them or gain access to what was theirs.

* * *

During dinner, those that had been present in the Library for the conversation about the Headmaster found themselves looking at the Headmaster differently. They were not quite sure if it was just their imagination or if they were just seeing clearly for the first time, but all of them noticed a more calculating gaze under the grandfatherly gaze that they normally noticed.

James frowned when he saw the Headmaster frown when Sirius stopped by the Slytherin table to return a book to Severus and to speak with his brother for a moment. He was going to be talking to Remus and Sirius about that look.

Thinking back, he began to wonder if there was more to the favoritism that the marauders had been receiving from the headmaster. It was normally him, after all, that would see to their punishments when they had pranked the other boy. Now that they had thought about their actions and could see how others looked at them, he could honestly say that the punishments had not matched the offence. They had all been thankful to have gotten away with so much. _Is this more of the same thing that he was doing to Sirius and Remus?_

After dinner, Severus met Helen and Gregory outside of the Great Hall and passed off their doses of the Legacy Potion with instructions attached. They both thanked the Slytherin and rushed off, causing some of the other students that had been passing by to raise their brows.

He was soon able to pass a dose off to Lily, who would explain everything and help Mary Macdonald with her potion.

The trio picked up the last three doses and headed off to their common room to track down their roommates. Smiling as they walked into the common room and seeing their roommates sitting on the couches in front of the fire, they could not help but feel like today had been a good day.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Hello everyone. I am sorry it has taken so long for this update. I have been trying to write this chapter for a while and was just never happy with it, but I finally feel like it is what I want to say. I promise I have not abandoned my stories, but things are picking up at work and I will not be writing as much as I was...I will continue to update all my stories as soon as a chapter is finished though.

I also want to thank everyone for the reviews, which have reached over 500 for this story. you guys amaze me with your response to this story, thank you. I have enjoyed each one. As always, please let me know if you have questions, I will do my best to answer though PM.

Happy Reading

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

{Parseltongue}

Over the next few weeks the trio made sure that they kept their maps with them at all times so that they could keep an eye on Peter Pettigrew. All three of them would take turns watching him scurry through the halls of Hogwarts. He could be found following behind the marauders almost all of the time.

While it was worrying to see Peters name following behind the marauders, it was even more so to see his name appear in the Hufflepuff common room and dorms. The trio quickly got into the habit of finding Peter on the map before they would bother speaking about anything that they did not want the little rat to know. They were certain now that Peter was already gathering information for Voldemort.

Because they knew that Peter was gathering information for Voldemort and they were worried about keeping a constant eye on his movements, Hermione came up with a charm that would alert them if Peter tried to leave the boundaries of the map while they were sleeping. They simply did not have enough time to keep constant watch on his movements while going through the laws that were passed with their family vote, working on their potions projects, attending their study groups and working on the potion for Remus. The charm allowed them to sleep at night with the exception to the times that they had to work on the potion.

In addition to their own paperwork that they were going through, they were helping Amy and Severus go through the boxes of paperwork that they had received from the Ministry. While neither of their seats had been used to cast votes, there were still plenty of papers that they needed to familiarize themselves with on the procedures that they would need to know as Head of their families. They were also familiarizing themselves with the laws that would be put back up for re-vote after the first because of the Peverell changing the votes that had been made illegally. The study group spent most of their time in the room that they had claimed; helping Severus and Amy with their new Head of House status and helping Lily understand her duties as heir to the Flamel family.

On the first Wednesday of October, Westley approached Draco while they were in their dorms getting ready for bed, his sleep pants balled up in his fists.

"Draco, can I ask a question about that potion that you gave me?"

"The Legacy Potion? Sure."

"Well. I found out that I am related to the Mulcibers and also to Ollivander. I wrote to them like you said that I should, and Ollivander wanted to make me his heir and teach me how to make wands."

"Alright…Westley…I am not really seeing a question in there. Do you not want to learn to make wands?"

"No…I guess I just wanted to know if there was something else that I was supposed to be doing. I never really thought that someone would make me their heir…and teach me a trade that they have passed down their family line.

"Well. The first thing you need to do is go to Gringotts with Ollivander and he will help you to claim your Heir ring. He will be able to tell you what your duties would be as Heir to his family, and it will be up to you to decide if you want to accept that or not, I guess. Aside from the shock…is there something specific that you are worried about?"

"I guess I just can't figure out why he wants to make me his Heir. I thought I would write my letters to the purebloods and that would be the end of it. Both of them wrote me back! The Mulcibers invited me over during Yule break to get to know them and asked that I let them know if I needed anything, and Ollivander is pretty much adopting me or something!"

Draco smirked at the panicked look that his roommate was sporting. He could see Harry trying not to laugh from the corner of his eye as he sat on his bed. "I see. Let me ask you something Westley; why does that bother you so much? To the Magical families, family is everything, no matter how you came to be a part of that family. Why would they not want you to be a part of their families when you are such a great person? I have not heard one person say anything against you since we have been here, you are great at Quidditch and are earning great marks in your classes…Why wouldn't they want you?"

Westley just stood in the middle of the room for a moment while he thought about what the other boy had said. When Draco could see that he was calming down, he decided that he would try and give the boy the best advice that he could, though he was not sure how much help he could be since that was not really his strong suit.

"Look. Why don't you go to Gringotts and accept you heir-ship, meet your new family members and get to know them. If you don't mesh with them, there is nothing written in stone somewhere that you have to spend time with them. But if you find that you do work together well as a family, then you have that many more people that you can lean on. I don't see any bad here."

Draco stole a quick glance over at Harry to find that his brother was giving him two thumbs-up. Breathing a sigh of relief, Draco turned his attention back to his roommate. He still felt uncomfortable giving advice to someone, even though he had changed quite a bit from his previous life.

"Alright, thanks man." Westley nodded his thanks as he disappeared from the room with his sleep pants still held tightly in his hands.

The next morning, Draco helped him write a letter so that he could set up a time to meet Ollivander at the bank to accept his heir ring and get to know the Head of the family he was becoming Heir to.

The day after Draco had been cornered by Westley, Severus stomped into their dungeon classroom with a glare on his face and muttering under his breath. Lily and James were following right behind him, not even bothering to hide the amusement they were feeling.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked as everyone looked on with interest as Severus crossed his arms and turned his face away to stare at the wall as Lily as began to explain what had happened to get him in such a mood.

"Helen Birchwood, the Ravenclaw in our Potions class that we gave the potion too…she just cornered him in the hallway. Apparently her closest living Head of House is Severus. She is also related to the Fawcett family, but she as ever so pleased to be able to present herself to her closest family member in person."

James was laughing as Lily tried to explain. "And the she Hugged him!" He burst out in a fresh wave of laughter. "You should have seen his face."

"Poor Severus…" Lily was not able to look at Severus without bursting out into giggles. "I have never seen him so…out of his element."

The others shared the amusement while Severus sat down on one of the couches and continued acting as though no one was in the room with him. Once they had themselves under control, he finally gave them his attention. "I hope no one else contacts me for a while. Or at least if they do, that they refrain from hugging me." Sirius patted Severus on the shoulder as he claimed the free seat on the couch beside him.

"Don't worry Severus; I don't think you will have any more for a while. At least until it comes out that the muggleborn are actually from squibs. Then the bank will be overrun with people wanting to take the test." Harry tried to comfort the boy as much as he could.

"Does anyone know the results of the other tests?" Bellatrix asked as she pulled a leg off of Amy's chocolate frog. "Who else was using them again?" She popped the leg into her mouth while pulling her feet up onto the couch. Amy bit the head off of the frog and offered the other leg to the black haired girl beside her.

"Lets see, I had two roommates, Westley and Simon…Westley talked to me last night and said that he was related to the Mulciber family and Ollivander, who has decided to make him his heir. He was a bit freaked out, but I think he is also excited at the chance to learn from Ollivander. He may actually go into wand making now that he has the opportunity. Simon is related to the Higg and Abbott families on his mother's side. Hermione, did Anya say anything?"

"Oh yes, she was very excited to find out about her mother's family. She was related to the Coopers and the Quintin family. She told me that she was sending a letter to her father this morning to let him know what she found out. She thought it was best to contact him and allow him to contact the families on her behalf." The others around the room nodded that this was a very wise choice since her father was familiar with pureblood protocol.

Lily leaned over James and handed her notes from their Charms to Lucius, who was working on his essay while listening to the conversation around him. "My roommate Mary, Mary Macdonald said that her test showed that she was related to the Stretton and Dawlish families. She sent her letters out this morning I think. She rewrote them five times before I told her to just send them already." She shook her head as she spoke.

The trio watched as the group interacted while they talked about the results they had been seeing from the potions they had given out. This group looked as though they had been hanging out since they arrived at Hogwarts, if not since they were toddlers and no one would have guessed that they had just gotten together this year.

"Oh, I wanted to talk to you guys about something." Sirius was frowning as he leaned his head against the back of the couch cushion. Once he had everyone's attention, he sat forward and placed his elbows on his knees. Even Severus could see that Sirius was not happy about something. "Last night I was supposed to have detention with McGonagall, but when I got there she told me that the Headmaster wanted to see me and so I would spend my detention with him."

The trio traded glances as the rest of the room narrowed their eyes at the black haired marauder. They had discussed the possibility that Dumbledore was overstepping his bounds, but some of them (Amy, Lily and James) were still a bit hesitant to think too badly of him. After all, he did always seem be so nice and concerned about their welfare. James saw how uncomfortable Sirius was and just knew in his gut that he was not going to like what his friend had to say.

"He said that he was concerned about me and wanted to make sure that everything was alright with me. He had noticed that I got a letter from home and invited to the Malfoy ball...he actually said that he thought it would be best for me if I cut off contact again. He said that he knew I was safer and happier away from such dark elements."

"He what?" Bellatrix shrieked as she stood up, one hand holding the half mutilated body of a chocolate frog. She had been in the process of pulling another leg off of a frog she was sharing with Amy, but had instead pulled the frog apart like a wish bone. Amy just stared sadly at her for a moment before pulling the black haired girl back onto the couch.

"So it is true then, Dumbledore is butting in where he does not belong." Amy handed her half of the frog to Bellatrix as a quick way to comfort the distraught girl.

"Yeah." Sirius stood up and switched places so that he could sit on the other side of his cousin that was now staring moodily at her two pieces of frog. "I am not sure why he wants to, but I don't plan on letting anything stop me from seeing my family now that I know they don't hate me…and look…Bella loves me enough no to hex me when I do this…"

Sirius swooped down and grabbed the frog half in Bellatrix's left hand and stuffed it into his grinning mouth. Bellatrix stared at him incredulously before eating her own half and standing up. "Did you just take my chocolate?" Sirius nodded and backed away from his cousin with a grin. "You ate my chocolate…that is evil…prepare to die." With a war cry, Bellatrix proceeded to chase her cousin around the room while smacking him with a pillow whenever she got close enough to reach him. Her fears of her cousin leaving them again disappearing as they ended chasing each other with pillows for the next little bit. It was almost half an hour before they collapsed, exhausted, back onto the couches.

Remus looked as the two black sat down to catch their breaths. He, Theo and Selena had been looking at the Hogwarts Charter that Draco had loaned him while the Blacks played. Once the two Blacks could breathe normally he asked a question that pulled everyone back to the original topic. "At least we know for sure now that Dumbledore is manipulative. The rest of us can be prepared if he tries to talk to us. About the potions though, isn't there one more…who had the other one?" Remus looked around at the others.

Theo answered after thinking for a moment. "Gregory Lyleson. He is in our Potions class too. I have not heard from him about the test though."

Everyone agreed that they did not know the results of his test yet and decided that they would try and find out the next time they met to work on the Potions projects.

It took them three more days to corner Gregory and find out what had come from his test. They were happy for him when they found out that he was related to the Lovegood and Zabini families and the new Head of House to the Bloxam family, a line thought to have been lost during the war with Grindelwald.

It was the following Friday night that the trio finally had a chance to deal with Peter. They had been walking towards the Hufflepuff common room when Hermione noticed that Peter was following behind them again.

{He is here.}

{Are we ready?} Draco hissed quietly. Once of the best things about Parseltongue was that it could be spoken so quietly that most people would not notice it if they were trying to be quiet.

{I finished warding the room last night} Harry replied.

They said nothing else as they made their way past the entrance to their common room and past the entrance to the kitchens. It had taken them almost all week to decide where they would confront the little rat, but they had found an unused room that was off the beaten path. There were not even portraits in this area of the castle.

Walking into the medium sized room that they thought may have been used for storing dry goods at one time, the trio watched the map Hermione held as they talked about their classes. As soon as Peter was well away from the door, Harry spun and spelled the door shut with a spell he had found in one of the warding books they had found in Knockturn Alley. The spell would keep any and everything from crossing the borders without the proper password.

Hermione slowly folded the map as Draco and Harry faced the rat while spinning their wands lazily in their hands. Peter, realizing that he was caught, began to scurry around the room looking for an exit. There was nowhere for the rat to go as the trio had spent hours making sure that the ward they had used on the door was woven into every inch of the room. The only thing in the room was a single chair.

After allowing Peter to run around for a few minutes, Draco rolled his eyes and shot a stunner at the rat. As the spell hit, the rat froze and fell to the ground.

"Honestly, you would at least think that he would try and transform so that he could defend himself."

"He is too much of a coward for that." Harry snarled. He really hated being anywhere near Peter. "Let's just get this over with."

Hermione nodded and forced Peter to transform out of his Animagus form and into the chair. Once he was seated, Draco made sure to magically bind him so that he could not move. Harry only came close enough to grab the wand that was sticking out of Peter's pocket. Pausing for a moment before he revived the boy, he cast a quick spell to check for any emergency portkeys and then summoned the little rock that Peter had hidden in his cloak pocket.

Seeing the raised brows of his siblings, he shrugged. "What? Draco makes us where our emergency portkeys to the manor at all times…I figured that the traitor may have one to get him back to Voldemort if he got into trouble."

Hermione smiled as Draco rolled his eyes again. He was fairly paranoid and had made both Harry and Hermione to swear to have their portkeys on their person at all times, including in the shower and in bed. _At least it made Harry think to check for portkeys. That could have been really bad._

"Rennervate." Draco watched as Peter came to slowly while blinking his eyes.

"Oh, What's going on?" Peter was looking around wildly.

"Why, what do you mean Peter? We just wanted to know why you were following us." Draco smirked as the boy squeaked.

"Following you? No, I was just looking for…for the kitchens." Harry wondered if Peter was proud of himself for coming up with a cover story.

"We know you have been following us…and your _friends_ so don't bother denying it. Draco get on with it." Hermione crossed her arms.

While Peter watched in a panic, Draco pulled a small vial full of a clear potion out of his robe pocket. As Draco stepped closer, the trio could hear him start to whisper frantically. "Loyal, loyal, loyal, loyal."

"If that is the password to the portkey you had in your pocket, don't bother." Harry smirked as Draco stepped up to the bound boy and held the dropper over his mouth. Hermione quickly uttered a spell that held Peter's mouth open, allowing Draco to place three drops of Veritaserum on Peter's tongue. After a few moments, Peter's eyes glazed over and Hermione nodded over at Harry as she with Draco over to the wall. "What is your full name?"

"Peter Allen Pettigrew."

"When were you born?"

"June 8th, 1960."

"Are you a marked follower of Voldemort?"

"Yes."

"When where you marked?"

"This summer. Three days after I turned seventeen."

"Why did you join Voldemort."

"I want to make James and Sirius pay. They get everything they want and get away with everything. They think I am week. I want to make them hurt."

"What has Voldemort asked you to do?"

"He wants information on the Potters and Dumbledore. He also wants to know about you."

"Have you reported anything yet?"

"No, I was going to report this weekend."

"What were you going to tell him?" Harry closed his eyes as Peter recited the information he had already gathered.

"The Potter will be alone at their manor for this Christmas holiday. James will be staying at the castle while they update their wards. They will be unprotected for three days while the new ward stone is put in place. Black has reunited with his family and Malfoy, and Nott are now hanging out with mudbloods along with the Blacks, Potters and Peverells. The Peverell speak Parseltongue when I am around, so I have nothing to report on where they live."

"Was he going to attack the Potters?"

"Yes. He was just waiting until he would be able to attack them when they were without protection."

"Great." Harry turned towards Hermione, who gave him a sympathetic glance as she walked forward and began to ask questions.

"Peter, who would notice if you disappeared?"

"Voldemort, the teachers, the marauders."

"What about your mother? Will she notice?" Hermione asked in confusion. She was sure that she remembered the marauders talking about Peter's mother."

"She was sick and wanted me to take care of her. I gave her a poison that Voldemort gave me and she died the same night I took my mark."

All three Peverell were looking at Peter in disbelief. They had known that the boy was already following Voldemort, but had never thought that he would have already killed someone, let alone his own mother.

"Well that just makes this easier." Harry snarled as Draco placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a comforting squeeze.

Hermione took a deep breath. "Do you have any living family?"

"I don't know."

"How are your current grades in your classes?"

"I am failing them."

"Who has the Marauder's Map?"

"Flitch took it when I was caught in the kitchens last week."

Turning away from Peter, she looked at her brothers and nodded as she pulled out a blank parchment and quill from her bag. Sitting on the floor, she cast a spell in Welsh before writing.

 _To the Headmaster and Board of Governors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry:_

 _I will no longer be attending Hogwarts. Over the summer, I spoke at length about this with my mother, before she died. She asked that I return and see how my grades were before making a final decision. She said that I should write this letter if I felt that I would not be able to graduate with enough NEWTS to matter. I am currently failing my classes and do not feel that I will do any better in them in the future. My mother had arranged for me to take up a position at a bakery of one of her friends if something were to happen to her. I am going to accept that position in the hopes that I will be able to have a job that I enjoy. My mother's friend has arranged for me a place to live and for transportation there. I did not want to withdraw in person as I do not want any pity. Please tell my friends that I will contact them once I feel that I am settled._

 _Thank you_

 _Peter Pettigrew._

Hermione handed the letter over to Draco.

"I think it is a little too well written for the idiot."

"I don't think that I can dumb it down anymore. I already feel like I have lost brain cells. Hopefully everyone will think that his mother told him how to write the letter before she died."

"We can hope." Harry was still twirling his wand around in his hand as he kept an eye on the traitor before casting a quick Tempus Charm. "It is almost nine now. We will have to get into the Gryffindor Common room and get his things after everyone is asleep."

"Are we still planning on putting everything into the Chamber?"

"Yes." Harry grinned over at Hermione. "The wards on the chamber will ensure that anything that is traceable will not be tracked."

Draco grimaced as he looked over at Harry. "Are you ready?" Harry nodded and started to pet his middle while hissing. Charon soon maneuvered his way out of the pouch that Harry had on all of his robes. No one other than the Trio knew that Harry had Charon with him almost constantly.

Hermione pointed her wand at Peter and whispered. "Besto."

Unlike the Homorphus Charm, this spell forced an Animagus into their animal form. As soon as Peter was back in the form of a fat rat, he began to squeal. Any rat with common since would have done the same if they were faced with the sight of a large black mamba that had fixed its sight on its pray.

Peter had not even moved when the large snake struck its pray, pushing toxic venom though its fangs and into the small body of the rat. The venom of Harry's familiar was the fastest way and easiest way the trio could think to dispose of the traitor. The venom was fast acting and would shut down the nervous system and paralyze the rat before killing it quickly. Peter was dead before he had truly felt the pain of the bite.

The trio waited until Charon had finished with Peter, before Harry allowed his snake to slither into his pouch to rest. Once they left the room, they set off to finish their plans for the night. Hermione made her way to check on the potion for the Werewolf Cure. Harry collected his cloak and left Charon on his bed to rest as he went to the Gryffindor common room to wait for the Gryffindors to fall asleep before taking all of Peter's things to the Chamber. And Draco made his way to the dorms to copy the letter and give the letters to his owl, which would drop the letters in the outgoing box at the Hogsmeade Owl Emporium. The letter would then be sent by the postal service to Dumbledore and to the governors.

By the time Harry made it back to his dorm it was almost three in the morning, and Draco and Hermione were waiting for him.

"I had to wait until everyone was asleep." Harry said tiredly. He looked exhausted.

Sharing a quick glance, Draco and Hermione pulled Harry onto Draco's bed. They knew that they would have trouble sleeping tonight, Harry probably most of all. He still had a tendency to feel like he was at fault for everything, and none of them had been looking forward to dealing with Peter, even though they knew it was a possibility.

Once the curtains around the bed were closed, Harry curled up with his siblings and they talked quietly about how much had changed since they came back. Listening to the things Draco and Hermione were saying, Harry soon fell asleep, thinking not of the one they didn't save, but of the ones that would now never fall to Voldemort or Dumbledore's lies.


End file.
